Firepit

One short paragraph about the trellises.  I couldn't find connectors that fit the other pipe I have.  I originally thought about using short sections of hose when I discovered that no PVC connectors would fit.  But I've since had another brainstorm that promises to work much better.  It will also tighten up the connections on the existing trellis for the tomatoes.  I'll try to post pictures when I get done.

One project that's been on hold has been the firepit.  I have a cast iron fire pit that we bought years ago and I love it.  And an in-ground firepit isn't a possibility here with all the tree roots.  The problem is that I always put in a circle of rock or brick of at least 5 foot diameter.  This is to help prevent surprises of the flaming kind.  When we moved, we couldn't move the firepit circle that I had created at the old house.  I ended up having a friend come and take the materials so they could rebuild it at their place because the landlord didn't want it to stay.

I was originally going to use small pieces of broken up concrete for this circle.  Then I ran into a problem.  I needed more sand to use as a base.  And the money for more sand wasn't in the budget anywhere.  So the circle was sitting half finished.

Well, while it was sitting another problem appeared.  The pieces that were down kept breaking into smaller pieces and getting flipped and twisted.  This concrete was broken out of a damaged section of an acquaintance's pool.  And it feels more like styrofoam then concrete.  Anyways the only fixes I could think of were going to cost more money.  So the project kept getting put off.

Enter fate in the form of a craigslist posting.  Someone local had pulled out their hedges.  The ground under the hedges had been mulched in lava rock and they wanted it gone.  Now they posted it as having already been piled up, so off I went with 4 super large containers, a shovel, and my son.  I figured if it was already piled I would be able to load and get done before my son needed to be distracted.  Bad days that is 15 minutes, good days can be up to an hour.

Well fortunately for me, it was a good day for my son.  The lava rock was not piled, it was still spread out.  It was still spread out so much that the shovel was useless.  I started pulling it by hand but quickly realized that would take much more time than I was going to have.  So I ended up asking if they had a rake.  I was thankful that they did.  Approximately 45 minutes later all 4 totes were filled to the brim and loaded in the caravan.  I thought about spreading a plastic sheet and getting more but the totes themselves filled almost the full back of the caravan.  (I did say super large, didn't I?)  BTW, lava rock may not weigh much in general but large totes full of lava rock weigh a lot.  My back was really unhappy with me.

So we headed home with our bounty.  Once home I pulled the van into the backyard, closed the gates, and went to work.  First I pulled up all the "styrofoam" concrete pieces.  Then I put in four bricks for the firepit to stand on.  Then I placed the firepit.  Then I piled the sand that I already had to form a thick layer under the firepit and between the legs.  Then I poured in lava rock.  All of it.  I deliberately wanted a very very thick layer.  Then I worked on the problems with the firepit itself.  I had to replace the bottom grate and ash pan. 

I was going to fire it up last night but my son came in early and wasn't feeling well.  So maybe tonight.  But for right now, I'm going to put a new layer of high heat paint on the fire pit.  It really needs it.

Also, just a note - prior to yesterday, I had already dug the circle area to a depth of three inches and put heavy weed barriers.  That was part of the reason for the bricks under the firepit, the sand, and the thick layer of lava rocks.

Oh, and the "styrofoam" concrete will be used for a short path in my herb garden.  There it won't be walked on frequently and it won't harm anything as it keeps breaking down.  It will be very effective though in helping to keep the weeds out of that path.

I hope fate will send some good luck your way, as well as continuing to send some my way.