DIY Stone Table Fire Ring

Scout a place for your fire ring on open ground free of overhanging branches and other flammable items. This prevents fires from flying sparks. The ground should be as flat as possible.

Drive a stake into the ground where you want the outside ring to begin. This measurement should take into account space for a stone sitting area outside the ring. The sitting area adds the safety of nonflammable stone as well as a sturdy place to put a chair. Drive a second stake into the ground about 20 feet from the first. Drive a third stake into the ground directly between them.

Tie a 10-foot piece of twine loosely around the center garden stake. It should turn on the stake without wrapping around it. Take the line in one hand and walk it around in a circle. Drop marking chalk as you go, using the end of the string as a guide. The result should be a near-perfect chalk circle.

Push the tip of the spade about 2 inches into the ground on the chalk line. Push forward to push up the sod or the upper grass layer. Continue until the entire circle is clear of sod.

Smooth about an inch-thick layer of sand into the cleared circle. Fold the garden spike twine back to 5 feet and use the end to draw a circle in the sand. Set the retaining wall blocks around this line to create a stone circle. Add another layer of stones, staggering them with the first layer. You may add a third layer to make a waist-high wall or keep it low for easy access to the flames.

Place flagstones in the sand around the outside of the retaining wall pit. Wiggle each one to ground it in the sand. Set them together like a puzzle, leaving about 1/2 inch of sand between the edges of each stone. Spread more sand between the stones so the sand is level with them.