Shaping and Cutting Natural Stone

You’re done with your DIY outdoor fireplace or DIY outdoor kitchen and you are contemplating what you will use to cover the horizontal surfaces. Look to natural stone for a possibility. Shaping and cutting natural stone does not have to intimidate you. There are ample resources that will help guide you through the process of getting your stone to fit the seating, shelving, and the top of your fireplace or kitchen. And it looks beautiful.

Flagstone seating material and lighting on a DIY outdoor fireplace

Do Your Research

Do an online search for DIY outdoor fireplaces or DIY outdoor kitchens and you’ll see some amazing structures. Pay attention to the horizontal surfaces and you’ll see that these DIY homeowners have used lots of different materials. One of the widely used materials for the horizontal surfaces is natural stone. The use of the natural stone will require some cutting and shaping of the material before it can be applied to your structure though. This can be done via a couple different methods.

Cutting Natural Stone
Method One – Use a Diamond Blade

Flagstone on a DIY outdoor fireplace — Mark your cuts on the stone using a long straight edge.

The first and most common method of stone shaping is to use a diamond blade to cut it. This is a very effective way of cutting the stone and curved cuts are even possible. The final look will be a smooth edge that can be rounded off for a finer look.

The diamond blade you use to cut your cinder block can double as the stone cutting blade. Depending on your saw, diamond blades can be used dry or wet. Dry cutting is dusty so use a mask and prepare to be covered in the colored dust. With a good blade, some stone, such as flagstone will cut through like a hot knife through butter. Don’t try to cut too deep, too fast though as you will bog down the saw.

Check out this video showing how easy cutting natural stone can be using a diamond blade. This is an example of a dry cut, using a 9″ grinder.
https://www.facebook.com/BackyardFlareLlc/videos/630083177148781/

One more thing to keep in mind about dry cutting is that your blade will become super hot and it will begin to soften and warp. When this occurs, simply stop cutting to allow the blade to cool down. If you proceed too long with a warping blade, it may maintain that warped out-of-round shape even after it has cooled.

Cutting Natural Stone
Method Two – Hammer and Chisel Cutting

If you want a more rustic look, you can opt to chisel cut the stone. This is a bit more of an art form and could require an extra piece or two of stone that you can practice on. You will use a hammer to hit the chisel, but don’t hit too hard. For the best cut, you will use small movements of the chisel head as you impact the chisel with your hammer.

If you are cutting a 12” straight cut using a 4” chisel head, you will probably hit the chisel at least eight to ten times along the way. The stone may not break after the first pass so start again and continue as you first did until you see the stone begin to crack.

It is not uncommon to go from end to end three or four times before the stone breaks. At times, you may have a stone that will not break exactly on your intended line. This may be a result of a stone that already has cracks and fissures in it. The stone will break where it is most vulnerable but it may not be exactly where you intended it to break. This is the frustration of chisel cutting versus cutting the stone with a blade.

DIY outdoor fireplace, stone seating — DIY outdoor fireplace with chisel cut stone seating

Check out a great video on cutting natural stone using the hammer and chisel technique.
https://www.facebook.com/BackyardFlareLlc/videos/289085947915174/

Cutting Natural Stone – Practice Makes Perfect

A great idea is to purchase a small piece of stone ahead of your construction. You can practice cutting lines, both with a blade and chisel. With enough repetition, you will find the preferred method and look that will look great on your structure.

As always, happy building.

Dan

Vintage and New Outdoor Fireplaces – They’re Everywhere

outdoor stone fireplace, house is gone — What stories can this AZ fireplace tell?

Outdoor Fireplaces – What History Can They Tell?

I have been traveling quite a bit lately. Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to have gone to some really neat locations. Just a few visited in the past few months are Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Winterpark, Colorado, El Paso, Texas, and the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. When I go to a new place, I love the opportunity to walk around and explore the old and new.

One thing that seems timeless is the fireplace built in an old house lot. They still stand, absent the house or an old cabin. I love walking around these towns and noticing great outdoor fireplaces built in new areas, at shopping malls, at apartment complexes, and even outdoor patios of fancy bars and restaurants.

Vintage Fireplace — Old fireplace in a WV city park

The old vintage stone fireplaces through their cracks and stains can sometimes tell a silent story, letting your mind wander at how much they have seen and been witness to over the passing years. Who graced the hearth and seating around these graceful structures? What conversations and decisions took place in front of the fire?

Imagine the fireplaces in the homes and parks of West Virginia that kept home owners and those fighting in the civil war warm. They used them every day during the harsh winters. Imagine the fireplaces in the Grand Canyon lodges that kept tourists warm during the 1930s when the park was really becoming a destination. Now those are old fireplaces with stories too abundant for us to even imagine.

How About the New?

Shopping center outdoor fireplace — Fireplace spotted in an AZ shopping center

But let’s think about how we can create our own memories and stories around an outdoor fireplace. When you spot an outdoor fireplace at an outdoor shopping center, stop and check it out. Sit on the hearth and if it is providing heat, enjoy it for a few minutes. Relax and even grab a drink if you have time. Become the history that can be told by that fireplace 100 years from now.

Pay attention to where you are and if you see an old or even a new fireplace that needs to be in a photograph, take a pic and send it to us at, dan@backyardflare.com. Let us know where and how you found it.

Thanks and as always, happy building!

Cinder Blocks Explained

Cinder block sizes vary and many different shapes are available for your outdoor projects. There are short ones, tall ones, solid ones and some are made with holes/voids. Not only are they different sizes, but some that are classified with the same dimensions can be slightly different allowing them to be used in a different manner.

You can build outdoor structures such as fireplaces, kitchen, and pizza ovens using primarily the blocks that are described in this article. Just for a bit of clarification, most people will call them cinder blocks but there is a slightly more technical term for them. They are sometimes referred to as concrete masonry units (CMU) by the folks that make them and sell them. When shopping for these blocks, you only need to call them cinder blocks though and know a little about how they are sized. The cinder blocks sold in the United States are sized in inches.

Cinder Blocks and Sizes Explained

8x8x16 Block

The most common cinder block is an 8x8x16 as seen in the adjacent picture. These measurements are the depth, height, and width respectively. Most construction projects, needing any structural integrity, will be built using this size block. These blocks have voids, designed to be filled with concrete, which provides great strength.

8x8x8 Block

These 8x8x8 cinder blocks are perfect cubes that are widely used in conjunction with the 8x8x16 cinder blocks. These blocks also have voids which allow them to be filled with concrete.

Some have notches manufactured into them for rebar, but the notch will not be used most of the time. When you are building using a running bond/staggered pattern, these will certainly be useful.

8x4x16 block

An 8x4x16 cinder block is half as tall as standard 8x8x16 cinder blocks, so they are very good to incorporate into your structure. These cinder blocks are used as a transition block when only a little bit of height is needed as they are only 4” tall. These blocks also have voids.

4x8x16 block

4" block used for your outdoor fireplace — 4x8x16

Occasionally, you will need a cinder block that is only 4” in depth. These cinder blocks are measured 4x8x16. They have much smaller voids in them which makes them harder to fill with concrete.

A lot of cinder block walls are constructed using these blocks.

8x2x16 cap block

Use these cinder blocks for finish work and solid surfaces. — 8x2x16 cap block

One of the last widely used cinder blocks is an 8x2x16 cap block. When you only need to add a couple inches to your structure or to close off a section, you will use these blocks. These cinder blocks are solid and are also used when a flat surface is needed for finish work.

If you are interested in building an outdoor fireplace or kitchen there are great ways of building them. Cinder blocks are just one way of constructing them, but it’s a fantastic way to build a structure with great integrity and strength. Visit www.backyardflare.com for great outdoor fireplace designs, ideas, and DIY construction plans.

Build a Stunning Outdoor Living Area

Build Your Stunning Outdoor Living Area

This week’s backyard profile goes out to Adam in the great state of Washington. What a great job Adam did, building his stunning outdoor living area, with the help of Backyard Flare and their design team. But… Adam went the extra mile and he constructed an outdoor destination complete with a fireplace, outdoor kitchen, and patio cover on steroids.

Wood framing of patio cover — Patio cover is framed

The blank slate started with the building of the wood framed pergola. A pitched roof with a decorative underbelly and drop lights covered a large footprint. This cover offered the living area with a respite from the sun or the probable Washington State rainfall. The support beams of the patio cover were stained darker than the wood slats. What a great look.

Pitched roof patio cover — Patio cover with pitched roof

Finishing the Patio Cover

Brilliant white trim accented the beautiful gray tone siding and then fantastic light sconces were set on the vertical corner sections. These lights provided ample light and amazing ambiance for the outside of the patio cover. A rugged transition to the ground was accomplished by covering the bottoms of the corner pillars a great faux stone veneer.

Outdoor Living Area — Great looking flagstone walkway

Flagstone was laid in an erratic pattern to form the approach to the covered patio. The earth tone colored stone was broken into large sections and then placed into the soil.

Outdoor Kitchen Construction

One corner of the structure was used as a partial wall for a very large outdoor kitchen. The structure was then equipped with a stainless-steel drop in barbecue grill, stainless access door, and several linear feet of counter top for cooking preparation.

Outdoor Fireplace Construction

Afterward, lots of cinder block was delivered for the Backyard Flare designed fireplace. Adam used the construction plan from Backyard Flare to build his fireplace structure with ground level storage voids. Subsequently, these storage voids worked well aesthetically on each side.

After the cinder block rough build was completed to the top of the two-tiered chimney stack, the veneer was then applied. This veneer matched the veneer used on the outdoor kitchen and the bottoms of the patio pillars which added a great overall look. The horizontal surfaces of the fireplace were covered with a dark stone, complimenting the veneer perfectly.

Outdoor fireplace design — Backyard Flare designed fireplace

A mantel was added to the front width of the fireplace and then veneer was added to the structure. Adam took a blank section of his yard and then transformed it into a very welcoming outdoor living area. I’m sure he and his family and friends have spent many days and nights making great memories.

If you would like to build an outdoor structure such as a fireplace or outdoor kitchen visit us at www.backyardflare.com. We will help you with all your design needs and can take most of the guess work out of it. Thanks for reading and we hope to hear from you. Happy building!

DIY Outdoor Fireplace – Build Review

DIY Outdoor Fireplace Inspiration

Each week we are going to pick a Backyard Flare designed fireplace built by a DIY homeowner enthusiast. We will then give you a DIY outdoor fireplace build review to dissect it regarding the construction and finish work. We hope you are inspired and that you realize that you too can complete this type of backyard project.

DIY fireplace building is achievable for even the average homeowner and the materials are readily available at retailers in your area. The knowledge of how to “put it all together” is accessible if you know where to look. Some of these amazing structures look as if they should only belong at a fine 5-star resort, but that’s not so.

DIY Outdoor fireplace built by homeowner — Deck level outdoor fireplace in Maryland

Our featured fireplace, built by Gene, is located in the great state of Maryland. Gene approached Backyard Flare with a design idea and fireplace concept that became known as the Prescott Fireplace. Gene wanted his fireplace to be raised to the level of his deck, which was approximately 3 feet. A wide firebox and matching wide chimney was desired.

Prepping the Space for Construction

Ground prep for concrete pour — Ground prep and formation with rebar is ready for concrete

After getting the construction plans, Gene started building. He first cut a section of the railing and deck out so the fireplace could be built into the deck. This would make it appear that the deck surrounded the base of the fireplace. Gene then excavated a bit of ground just outside the perimeter of his deck posts. Height concerns were taken into consideration while pouring the foundation slab so the mortared blocks would reach the level of the deck perfectly. At no time was the fireplace structure to support the deck or come in contact with it.

Gene made sure to use rebar in a grid pattern to pour his needed thickness of concrete taking into consideration factors such as frost line, ground prep, runoff, soil type, and undermining. This will be different for different geographical areas.

Premixed concrete brought in on a trailer was used to pour the slab resulting in a beautiful foundation. Not much finishing needed to be done because the block work would be covering the newly poured pavement.

Concrete pad poured — Finished concrete is ready for block work

Work was done on the edge of the deck to perfect it. The gaps around the slab would ultimately be filled in with dirt once the first few rows of block were mortared in place.

Cinder block construction of outdoor fireplace — Gene reached the level of his deck

With the block work started, Gene quickly built upward until he reached the height of the deck. The structure was set back a couple inches so the veneer could be applied down the front face of the fireplace.

Time to Finish the Fireplace

Once the structure was completed in rough form with the appropriate chimney measurements and dimensions, the finish work was planned. Lots of possibilities were posed and a few were chosen.

The structure’s vertical surfaces were covered in a beautiful faux veneer which looked great with the accented dark pieces. The horizontal surfaces were covered with a thin earth tone colored flagstone that worked well with the color of the veneer. Mortar was used between these stone pieces thus giving it a nice finished look.

Landscape was completed around the finished structure which gave this space an amazing final look. An elevated fire grate was added to the firebox and fireplace tools were bought to manage the fire. Gene did a great job on his outdoor fireplace and made us here at Backyard Flare, LLC very proud.

We’re hoping this DIY outdoor fireplace build review inspired you and that you consider this type of outdoor project. Visit us at www.backyardflare.com if you would like to build your own outdoor fireplace and would like more information about how it’s done.

DIY Outdoor fireplace built by homeowner - build review — First fire in the newly completed fireplace