How to Make a Backyard Beach Fire Pit

Supplies: 

Two-by-fours 

Sand 

Seating, such as lawn chairs or cinder blocks and wood planks 

Fire source such as a pit or a tabletop fire bowl

You might love the beach, but because of your job, your family, or other circumstances, you might not be able to actually live there. But it doesn't mean that certain things that you love about the beach, such as putting a blanket down on the sand, and having a fire, can't be realized in your own backyard. It's fun to set up a fake beach setting in your yard and enjoy it every night.

To set up a backyard beach fire pit you'll actually make a large sandbox. Two-by-fours work well to create the perimeter of the sandbox. You could make a simplistic arrangement, such as a square, or you could make a more elaborate shape with the two-by-fours. Make just a small sandbox or create a much larger one. Dig a narrow trench, stand a plank on its side, and pound it into the trench. Pack the dirt around it and move on to the next plank. You can also use short logs and create a circle or other shape. After making the perimeter of boards, fill the inside of the box with sand.

There are various things that you can set up inside of your backyard sandbox. For seats, set cinder blocks - spaced apart - in a line. Cover them with a plank and you can sit by the fire. Another option for seating is to use old coffee tables and just set them around the fire pit. You could also make pallet seats with outdoor cushions on them. Or, just put cushions or blankets on the sand to sit on. And, of course, setting lawn chairs out is always a great way to create seating for yourself and others.

A coffee table is a good choice for a place to set the fire. You can use a chafing dish gel fuel and put it in a concrete bowl. Surround the fuel with rocks and set the bowl - or more than one - on the table. A second choice is to build a short cylinder shape from bricks or blocks. Burn sticks, charcoal, or other materials, inside the fire pit. Yet another option is to set up a wood burner, a grill, or even a kerosene heater.

You love the beach but can't live there? No big deal. You can have the next best thing right in your backyard. There, you can enjoy barbecues on the weekends and sitting by the campfire at night. Invite friends and neighbors to join you or experience the backyard beach with your own family. It might not be the real thing, but besides the actual sea, you're not missing a thing!