Restoring an Old Fire Pit

Over time your fire pit may begin to show some wear and tear from the elements. A great way to refurbish an old pit and get it looking like new again is to remove the fire bowl (area where the fire burns) and make some simple repairs. Typically, there are two common areas that tend to wear out: the bottom and sides of the fire pit.

The first common thing that occurs is burn through or holes in the bottom. An inexpensive and simple way to fix this problem is to take a trip to your local home improvement store and purchase a thin piece of sheet metal. Sometimes, if you give the store your dimensions they will cut the piece of metal for you, but before you head to your local home improvement store be sure to measure the dimensions of the fire pit first. Unless you have the know how and the tools at home, you can just cut the metal yourself. Most fire pits have square bottoms, but if yours happens to be round the metal can still be cut to fit the bottom of your fire pit. Now you just need to attach the new piece of metal to the bowl.

One way is to weld the new piece of metal in place and the other is to drill 4 holes in each corner and attached the new piece of metal with some bolts. I would recommend welding the new piece of metal because a solid weld will out last the other option. Once you have attached the metal, it is a good idea to drill some small holes in the middle to drain any water that might settle from rain and paint the bare metal to protect it from the elements that can cause rust, corrosion, etc. Purchase a high heat, rust proof paint and spray the bare metal. This paint will protect your newly repaired fire pit for years to come.

If burn through is not a problem and you just have rust to deal with the process to restore it is simpler than the previous discussed repair method. For rust you will need a few supplies to repair your pit such as a hand-held grinder, sand paper, high heat paint, and a good pair of gloves to protect your hands. Go ahead and grind or sand the rusty metal until you no longer see rust and if it is not too bad you could also use a liquid rust remover. However, we recommend using a hand-held grinder for the quickest and most efficient method to remove rust. Wipe off any residue from grinding or sanding with a damp cloth and allow it to dry, then paint the surface with a high temperature paint. Allow the paint to dry and your fire pit is ready for use again.