Make Your Own Mini Firepit Out of Recycled Objects
Winter is here, and that means cold weather. What’s better when it’s cold out than curling up next to a warm fire? It is actually so easy to make your own mini firepit, and you probably already have most of what you need for it, anyway! Check out this tutorial, where I’ll walk you through creating your own gorgeous firepit.
Tools and materials:
- Plastic container
- Plastic container that fits into the first one
- Duct tape
- Knife
- Oil
- Paper towel
- Large container
- Concrete mix
- Water
- Pan
- Rocks
- Multi-surface paint
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Lighter
Since you’re going to be working with concrete, the first thing you need to do is prepare the mold for it. Grab a plastic container that you no longer need and use duct tape to secure the lid in place. Then you’re going to cut off the bottom of the container. You want to keep the container big, so cut off as little as you can. Then use a paper towel to spread some oil around the container. This will make it easier to remove the mold from the cement once it dries.
Grab a big container and pour in three cups of dry concrete mix. You’re then going to mix in about one cup of water. The amount of water, however, isn’t exact. So pour in a bit of water at a time and mix, adding more water as necessary, until your left with the consistency of pancake batter.
You’re going to want to be able to move the project before it’s fully dry, so I suggest putting the container in a pan or something that you can pick up and move. Place your mold into the pan with the opening facing up, then pour your cement into it until it’s about ¾ of the way full. Squeeze the container to help the bubbles rise to the surface and pop so that your concrete has fewer air bubbles in it.
Take the second container and insert it into the first one, creating a well in the cement. Don’t worry about it if some of the cement spills over. Then fill the second container with rocks to weigh it down and keep it in place. Now it’s time to wait for the cement to dry.
Once your cement is completely dry, it’s time to remove the molds. First, dump out the rocks. Try lifting out the inner mold by squeezing it, but if it gives you any trouble just cut the plastic to remove it. Once that’s out, remove the duct tape and remove the outer mold as well. Once your cement is out of the mold, put on some protective eyewear and sand it down with 20 grit sandpaper.
If you’re interested in decorating the concrete, now’s the time! I used a metallic multi-surface paint. You can use some painter’s tape to tape off a design, but I decided to do a random imperfect line to give it a marble effect. You can also add some feet to the bottom, or cut out a circle of wood to go under it. Get creative with how you want it to look.
To make the fire, you’re going to pour alcohol into the cement pit. You want to use isopropyl, or rubbing, alcohol in the highest percentage of alcohol you can find. The higher the alcohol percentage, the cleaner it will burn. You don’t need to use a ton of alcohol, but the more you use the longer the fire will last.
All that’s left to do now is to light the alcohol on fire, and you’ve got a beautiful mini firepit. Be careful of kids and pets! To extinguish the fire all you need to do is stifle the flame by covering the pit and it will go out. You can also put a candle inside of the pit instead of the alcohol!
That’s it, you guys! I love this project. I just think it’s so pretty. These would make such a great centerpiece for tables for an outdoor event, or indoors in the winter. No matter what you use it for, it will be gorgeous. You can customize this in so many ways, depending on the containers you choose as your molds and the way you decorate it, so definitely show me your versions in the comments!
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I love it!
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Concrete is porous. I THINK NOT!!!
Frequently asked questions
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Ok I’m super sad... mine CRUMBLED as I took it out of the mold ... what did I do wrong ????
How bout using denatured alcohol? It burns cleaner and isn’t that expensive.
Have you had any problems with the cement sponging into the alcohol because it is porous and also the cement container getting too hot to put directly on furniture and possibly cracking? Not sure how long you tested this but not sure the idea is a safe one for indoors or outside. I believe that indoor / outdoor mini fire pits come with a stainless steel fuel cup to place inside the cement structure. Your project is a good one but only partially thought out. Researching Ideas to make sure they are viable should be done especially when fuel of any kind or when potentially toxic materials are used.