Whiskey Fire Pit Tutorial

Hello all! Wow, two weeks in a row! Thank you to everyone who voted for my Whiskey Fire Pit. I can tell you the more I worked on it the more I smiled. I also must thank my handsome guy for doing all the lifting! My simple hernia repair has not been so simple!

Alright let's do this!

Supplies:
Whiskey barrel halved
10" aluminum flashing (I believe mine was 10' with some leftover)
2 High heat spray paint cans
Fire Bowl
Charcoal or fire wood
Drill
Lava rocks
3 anchor bolts


I hunted Craigslist to find the fire bowl, which came with the tile surround. I hadn't original had the tile portion in my dreaming, so if you can't find one like that it may still be cool. I had to take apart the stand it came on to get just the parts I wanted.

Play around with your pieces and decide how you want it to sit on the barrel. In the end I chose to put the bowl in first and then the tile surround so it had more support.

Clean the bowl if its used. I used BBQ tools to scrub it. Once dry, spray the bowl and lid, top and bottom with high heat spray paint. It'll look brand new!! {I also think copper paint would be awesome, but alas that wasn't a choice at my Home Depot.} Also scrub the barrel if you want.

There's a plug in the bottom of the barrel. I drilled it out for more airflow. There is also a significant amount of air through the slits in the barrel.

Take your aluminum flashing and mark a line along the top about 2 in down. This will be the guide along the edge of the barrel.

FYI: To make certain the bowl insert wouldn't tip off the barrel I secured it in place using anchor bolts in 3 places around the barrel. This also gave the option for the tile to go on first and sit on the bolts then add the bowl. {This route would make it easier to clean out the bowl, but it isn't quite as pretty so like I said I did the opposite.}

Choose your 3 places for bolts and drill pilot holes. They should be equally spaced around the barrel 1in from the top. Make sure you choose parts in the barrel that look sturdy, so it'll end up being approximately equal.

I used the bolts to secure my flashing. The drill easily cuts the hole for you to match up to the bolt hole. I recommend starting at one bolt and going around instead of pre-drilling. You want your bolt to stick out of the barrel not inside. Now move to the next one, attempt to stay at the 2in line but since its round that's tricky. Cut your aluminum off after the second bolt. Now start again with a second sheet at the same bolt and repeat until all the way around. Using a sharp pair of scissors and GLOVES cut slits in the top that's sticking up all the way around about every 4 in. Fold these down on the barrel edge and tack in place with finishing nails. Trim any excess aluminum or fold it down. BEWARE of the metal it's SHARP once cut!

 

Drink some water that part makes you tired!!

Spray the inside of the barrel with high heat paint- 2 layers.

Assemble your whiskey fire pit where you want it.

Lastly, I wired my anchor bolts to the tile surround.

Choose whether you want to use charcoal or wood. If charcoal put down lava rock for more heat protection.

Light it up!

Disclaimers:

Keep a hose or bucket of water nearby.
Watch your children.
Never leave the fire unattended.
S'mores are quite addictive.

<3 Melissa Delight @Delighted