Modern DIY Welded Fire Pit (Our Fire Pit Makeover)

Between shoveling two 3/4 tonne truckloads of gravel (one in the pouring rain before a birthday party, the other at midnight in the pitch black) and getting bit by a German Shepard while buying supplies, you'd think I'd be cursing this DIY fire pit - but I can't wipe the goody grin off my face!  I love how our modern, welded fire pit turned out and, despite some back breaking manual labor, it was surprisingly easy to make over our fire pit.

Hubby and I readily admit that neither of us are very adept at landscaping or gardening.  The first summer we lived here we were really focused on updating the interior and last summer we were barely here (and when we were, we were working on our bathroom reno - the "reveal" is going to pop up on the blog soon!).  This year we originally had an ambitious summer to-do list but then decided: hey, you know what's better than weeding and painting and digging around, trying to repair our shoreline and remove our horrible dock?  Making s'mores and watching the sunset! 



But we needed somewhere nice to make our s'mores and do our sunset watching, because our old fire pit was too janky!

The fire pit is positioned in the center of our lawn, which I like, but having this crumbling fire pit front and center ruined the lake view from the house.  Although we've used it a lot over the years, I hated that the fire pit was just plonked down in the grass because I was always stressing out about ticks.  It was not a very inviting outdoor space.

 
We mulled over some fire pit landscaping options and decided anything involving paving stones or lock stone was silly because our lawn, in addition to sloping toward the water, is very lumpy.  The previous owner had tried lock stone, but it just sunk into the lawn and grass grew over it.  We needed something cheap and plentiful that could move with the ground.  Enter: gravel!

Simple Fire Pit Zen Garden - Supplies:

• Dolomite Gravel
• Landscaping Fabric
• 2 x 4 Pressure-treated Lumber (We Used Eight, 6 Foot Lengths)
• Scrap Lumber 
• Screws (3")
• Drill

Simple Fire Pit Zen Garden - Steps:

First we created a little "box" out of 2 by 4 pressure treated lumber we found in the garage.  Instead of buying longer lengths, we just attached two lengths together with screws and scrap wood:

We dug up and transplanted the sod (waste not, want not), and then laid down some landscaping material to prevent weeds from peeking through:

Then we hauled home two, 3/4 tonne truck loads of dolomite, which is a nice white gravel.  Weaving my way through the trees and parking the truck on the lawn was SO much fun.  Shoveling 5,280 pounds (!) of gravel was slightly less fun but my arms feel super muscley now so I can't complain.

You've already caught a sneak peek of the modern fire pit we built for what is essentially an adult-sized sandbox.  I started a Pinterest board devoted to plants, exteriors and landscaping and started pinning a lot of fire pit designs.  I stumbled across this pin and tracked it back to The Brick House (I miss Morgan's blogging so much!).  Hubby and I both loved the modern look of her welded fire pit, so we decided to make our own - with one minor alteration to her design.

How to Weld a Modern Fit Pit - Supplies:

• Lincoln Flux Core Wire Feed Electric Welder
• Welding Mask
• Welding Gloves (or any Full Leather Work Glove)
• Coveralls (Flame Resistant is Ideal)
• 1/8" Metal Sheet
• Four 36" x 18"
• Three 36" lengths of angle iron, square tube, or whatever scraps, for bracing
• Magentic Welding Holders
• Rust-Oleum's High Heat Enamel Spray Paint in Aged Copper

We went to a local steel fabricator for the metal and had them cut all of the pieces we needed to size, making this project a LOT easier.  That's where I got a little too friendly with a German Shepard - who did not want to be friends.

How to Weld a Modern Fire Pit - Steps:

To start the box, Hubby laid one piece on the floor and held the other one upright with the magnets - which are really, really handy.  He tack welded it into place on both the inside and outside just to hold it in position:

He continued to tack all the sides in place until the box was assembled.

Once it was tacked, he laid it down and confirmed it was square by using a tape measure.  Then he proceeded to weld the whole seam, inside and out.

Welding this fire pit was really easy and took so little time - no more than a couple of hours.

Before I show you any more, Hubby would like me to remind you that he's not a professional welder, and has not actually turned on our welding machine for years.  I think he did a wonderful job, but he sees imperfections.  I just see s'mores and sunsets, baby.

Instead affixing steel rods in the corner, like Morgan did, we added cross bracing inside the box.  This adds some strength and ensured that the box stayed square when we awkwardly moved it from the garage down the hill to the fire pit.  Jeesh, this thing is heavy.  The process for the cross bracing was the same: check for square, hold the braces in place with magnets, tack them in place, and then completely weld them.

This is what the finished, unpainted, welded fire pit looked like:

I really loved the natural patina of the metal and didn't mind that it would quickly rust, but Hubby was adamant that we paint it.  It didn't take long for our old fire pit to rust completely through, so he wanted to protect this new fire pit and keep it looking good for as long as possible.

I decided to try Rust-Oleum's High Heat Ultra Enamel Spray Paint in Aged Copper, although matte black would have looked sharp too.

I'd love four Adirondack chairs encircling our new modern fire pit, but for photographs I hauled out my Eames score.  I could not restore the chrome legs, so I painted them matte black. 

See why I love our modern fire pit so much?  I ogle it from the kitchen window every morning and admired it while we canoed around the bay last night.

The gravel is working out perfectly.  I used a rake to level it as best I could, and it was like playing in a giant zen garden.  No grass or weeds have poked through and I love that I no longer have to sit with blades of grass tickling my ankles!  I'm planning on planting some mosquito deterring plants around the fire pit area.

Yep, I'm pretty smitten with our modern, DIY welded fire pit.  If you need me this summer, you know where to find me!  Bring marshmallows.

A Budget-Friendly Bathroom, Almost Two Years Laters - What Held Up, What Didn't

In preparation for our exciting reno, the bathroom has been largely dismantled and we're down to the studs on one side.  There's no going back!  Before we ripped apart the walls, I quickly snapped a few photos to show how the budget-friendly spruce held up.  Here's what the painted vanity, painted tile, painted hardware, and painted light fixture looked like when everything was freshly done:



And here's that same view, right before demolition commenced (which is why, if you look closely, it's not as clean - seemed like a waste of time to clean in the weeks days before we started to demo):



As a quick reminder, here's what the bathroom looked like when we moved in:



I have to say that I really, really liked the makeover.  Of course, aqua cabinets would have been even better, but I wanted to work with what was there, like the linoleum floors, the mint counters, and the bisque toilet, sink, and shower, because the goal was to spend as little as possible.  When we bought the lakehouse and started tinkering with floor plans, sketching out mini makeovers, and spacing out/budgeting for major renovations, the original plan was to renovate the bathroom last year.  Unfortunately, the delay in selling our townhouse (plus the disappointing sale price), and the resultant delays moving in and tackling the kitchen meant that we just weren't prepared to renovate the bathroom last spring.  Having a spruced up space made delaying the renovation by a year so much easier.  Plus, it helped me figure out what I wanted for the bath renovation in the long run, and I'm grateful for that time to ponder.

So, how did everything hold up? 

The Painted Bathroom Vanity

It held up beautifully!  I am actually very surprised, because the Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations kit required no sanding or priming (click here to read my post about it).  It made me so nervous to skip those steps, but it adhered perfectly and held up to lots of scrubbing and cleaning.  In one teeny tiny area, where we forgot to put a cabinet bumper, the constant opening and slamming shut of the door rubbed off a tiny fleck of paint.  Cabinet bumpers are a must!  I was provided this product by Rustoleum, but would happily purchase it because it was far less labor intensive and messy than sanding, priming and painting (which we did for the kitchen cabinets), but it held up better than primer and paint.  I have had to touch up the kitchen cabinets in a few spots, but I haven't touched up the bathroom cabinetry (I ignored the little fleck because it was so wee).

Then

Now

Would I recommend it?  Yes!  Whole-heartedly - especially to someone who doesn't have ready access to a workshop or garage.  Sanding is so messy, but de-glossing can easily be done indoors without making a mess (as long as there is good ventilation).

Are there drawbacks?  The colour options are limited, but you get it tinted in-store, and I think that an adventurous person working the paint department could custom tint it.  They did that for me for the tile transformation kit because they didn't have the code for the exact white.  So custom colours could be a possibility.  As for other drawbacks, in can be a bit pricey if you're only refinishing a small set of cabinets - but there are kits in different sizes (small and large).  As I mentioned before, the only tricky part with application is the clear coat, which can end up streaky and is difficult to fix so you need to work quickly, in good light, and get an even application the first time.

The Painted Hardware

I am slightly disappointed with the painted hardware, but I think my sanding/prep work is to blame.  Overall, the hardware maintained its lovely matte black finish, but on two knobs the gold peeked through (see photo below).  It was such a bummer!  I didn't prime (the Rust-Oleum High Heat Enamel spray paint I used doesn't require it), so perhaps that would have helped.  I think that the real problem is that I didn't wipe off the residue well enough after sanding.  If I painted hardware again, I'd sand really well and then clean with TSP - that stuff works really well.  Using metal primer would also be a good idea.



Would I recommend it?  Sure!  It's just paint, and if you have hardware with a nice shape but unwelcome finish, it can be a really cost effective way to update it - especially if you're using leftover paint like I did.  If I was really bothered, it would have taken me two second to fix the gold patches.

The Painted Light Fixture

Gah!  That thing bothered me - not the paint makeover, but the fixture itself.  It's just so ugly.  I will admit, though, that it did provide nice light.  I always looked good in this bathroom, sort of airbrushed, which sometimes resulted in a botched makeup application - something I'd realize in horror when I looked in the truck vanity mirror, halfway to town.  I recently busted two bulbs cleaning it, so now I'm even less enamored with it.  I should admit that I am a hair spray fanatic, so everything in the bathroom gets coated in a light dusting of sticky mist.  The matte surface of the paint made it a bit trickier to wipe the spray residue off, but it also disguised it a bit.  I think a glossy finish would be better for something that requires regular cleaning, but there were no problems with the paint - no chips or loss of paint. 



Would I recommend it?  Yes!  De-brassifying the light fixture made me much happier with the bathroom and it helped tide me over until the reno.  It definitely helped me save money because otherwise I might have been tempted to drop $20-50 on a new light fixture, which would have been a total waste.  I'm probably too worried, but because those bulbs do give off some heat I felt more comfortable using the Rust-Oleum High Heat Enamel spray paint (which has a really limited colour and finish selection).

The Painted Tile

Remember how I goofed that up?  If I'd followed the directions during the application, it would have been amazing!  Despite my rookie mistake, the Rust-Oleum Tile Transformation kit still held up - no damage or chipping, and it was easy to clean.  I have seen people cover tile using paint (like Jenny's bathroom makeover), but I can't speak to how well that holds up or cleans.  I can say that the Rustoleum tile paint ends up super smooth, just like ceramic - and not like paint at all.  I'm overly concerned with how well it cleaned, but sometimes I see a bathroom reno or makeover - with decorative crap littering the toilet tank, for example, and sigh, "that can't be easy to clean".  It's the hairspray thing - it clouds my vision.



Would I recommend it?  If you've got hideous tile and are in need of a temporary solution, I can't think of a better way to simply and cost-effectively update it.  I think of these Rust-Oleum products as band-aid solutions, though, and wouldn't recommend doing this and then investing in expensive new cabinets or something - this is for the budget-conscious, because once the grout lines are painted, close up it's evident that it's a faux finish.

After its budget-friendly makeover, the bathroom got a lot of love - especially from Apartment Therapy readers, many of whom deemed further renovation unnecessary.  Some even suggested taking the spruce a bit further and replacing the sink and counter, for a more permanent change.  But there are (were!) many things to dislike about the bathroom, despite my efforts at gussying it up:

The Portal to Nowhere

The shower portal is probably the #1 reason we want to renovate.



I absolutely hate the shower portal, but I'm happy I lived with it for a year and a half, first.  Had we renovated immediately, I would have been tempted by a modern version, because the shower doors do contain the steam better than a shower curtain, which produces a cozier shower experience - until you step out into the frigid bathroom!  Ultimately, what has bothered me the most is how difficult it is to clean!  Okay, yes, I seem to be a bit preoccupied with how easy it is to clean things in the bathroom, but cleaning the glass doors was a nightmare!  Even after vigorous scrubbing, they never looked perfectly clean, plus they got covered in soap scum immediately anyway.  This is the day after I scrubbed them:



See that grime? Oh yeah, and the door didn't properly open and close anymore.  I can't believe I'm showcasing all of this grossness.  I even left my hand lotion and face wash on the vanity for photos - without putting them in pretty bottles.  They're going to revoke my blogger license!!

It is also awkward to clean inside the tub, because the glass panels prevent me from reaching inside easily.  I am SO excited to have a shower curtain again!  It will be easier to clean everything, and it won't produce such a dramatic temperature difference between the shower and the rest of the room.  Plus, I'm excited for new faucets because the existing ones have taken a beating and just look so sad (that's mostly wear - not all soap scum, but it's some soap scum, I'm not going to lie).



The Counter

The laminate counter, although I grew fond of the mint, chipped and began to peel (they were totally popping up in the kitchen when we moved in, but the bathroom was okay at the time).  Covering it with Rust-Oleum's Counter Top Transformations would have helped, but I didn't like any of the colour choices.  If we were living with the bathroom for longer, I would have probably tried it.  The concrete finish everyone is doing looks cute too, but that looks awfully dusty.

 
The Height

This vanity is SO low: only 30" (including the counter)!  I know we were accustomed to the taller, brand new vanity in the townhouse, which made this feel even shorter, but still - it's so short.  It seems like the silliest thing to complain about, but after you wash your hands and accidentally soak the crotch of your pants right before leaving the house - a dozen times - you start to pine for a taller vanity.  I'm very excited for our new walnut vanity, which will be between 36-37" tall - plus we'll have the bonus of double sinks!

So there you have it, some updates on our budget-friendly spruce (what held up and what didn't), and also a little tour of the grossness to better explain why we're renovating.  If you're curious about the makeover process, here are the other posts about making over the space:

Refinishing the Bathroom Cabinets
Refinishing the Bathroom Tile
The Before and After
Styling the Bathroom with Art & Accessories
Summary of Cabinet Refinishing Options

Now, forget you ever saw my grimey shower ;)

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Give a Fire Poker Set a New Look with Paint

In the spray painting frenzy I eluded to, a fire poker set left behind by the former owners of the lakehouse also got a dash of matte black Rustoleum high heat paint.  We actually already have a lovely poker set that my grandpa welded, but the tools hang from a stand that also holds a pile of firewood: 

We'd like to weld a new stand just for the tools, as we no longer need wood storage (what with the handy firewood cubby beside the fireplace), but in the meantime I thought we might just want to use the small little reject set.  However, the pieces had brass handles and were worn out.

First I gave the set a thorough clean with some soapy water and a scrub brush.  I rinsed it with clean water and let everything dry overnight.  Then I brought the whole kit + caboodle outside, taped off the bristles on the brush and used the Rustoleum high heat spray paint I used for the fireplace vents and doors (see the whole makeover of the fireplace here).  A couple of coats on each side, waiting two hours before flipping them over and spraying the other side, did the trick.  This paint has a super quick dry time (1/2 hour, handle in 1-2 hours), which makes for a quick DIY.

I like how the set disappears against the dark grey, newly painted stone because I will have art and accessories that I want to highlight instead.

You must ignore the disarray

I partnered with Rustoleum to update the fireplace vents and doors and was so pleased with the quality of the paint (and the smart, matte black finish) that I tackled this as a bonus project with leftover paint.  I was not prompted or encouraged to provide a positive review of Rustoleum high heat enamel paint.

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