Properly Protect Your Lawn From Your Fire Pit

As you can imagine, a burning fire pit can damage your lawn if you don’t exercise caution. The base of a fire pit can get extremely hot and can harm patches of grass if left in a single spot for a long period of time. Now, I’m not here to judge, sometimes you need to burn your fire pit on your lawn. That’s perfectly fine! However, it’s important that you pay attention and follow a basic plan. Read on to learn all about how to protect your lawn from your fire pit.

The Reasons Fire Pits Damage Grass

People often plop down their entire fit pit on their lawn without worrying about the damage it could do to the grass underneath. But as we said, not only can the fire pit scorch, stain, and compress your grass, but dangerous embers can fly out and spark nearby shrubbery.

Because of the fire pit’s presence, it can cause damage to your grass in the following ways:

• The heat from the base can cause heat stress for your lawn and surrounding plants.
• Moisture in the grass will evaporate, simulating the effects of drought and causing lasting damage.
• The surface of the fire pit will block the sun’s rays, causing the grass underneath to die from lack of photosynthesis.
• Impressions from the fire pit legs will compress the grass and cause issues.

Because of the above reasons, it’s important that you regularly move the fire pit — preferably after each use!

If that sounds like a pain, you might want to limit the use of your fire pit on your lawn to special occasions only. However, there are ways to protect your grass before you get started.

Placement Ideas

Keep away from shrubbery

There are a few things you should consider when you are deciding where to place your fire pit. First of all, make sure that there is plenty of distance between the fire pit and any shrubs, bushes, structures, or anything else flammable that could catch fire. Ideally, your fire pit should be 25 feet away from anything that is flammable. I know that this isn’t always possible, but please do your best!

Rake and clear debris

Once you choose a spot, rake the area to make sure there are no smaller flammable debris (such as dead branches, grass, or leaves). Move the loose debris away from the area before you set your fire pit up.

Use a fire-proof surface

Keep your fire pit on a nonflammable surface, such as concrete, stone, or a fire pit pad. Another less popular but highly effective option is to move brick patio pavers over the grass. These pavers are sturdy, flame-resistant, and you can use them to create a platform for your fire pit. They were forged in molten flames, so they will definitely protect your grass from heat!

Dampen the Lawn

One way to protect your grass from the fire is to spray it with a hose before and after you use the fire pit. Simply take your hose and spray a healthy mist of water under the fire pit and around the general area. You do not need to flood it, just make sure that it’s nice and wet. As the fire burns, the heat will cause the water to evaporate, causing a cooling effect. Just like your own sweat!

Additionally, the water serves as a protective barrier over the grass and keeps the ground underneath moist.

Dampening your lawn before using your fire pit will definitely prevent it from becoming too dry (and thusly, brown and scorched).

Move the Fire Pit Often

Even if you dampen the grass with water or raise it with brick pavers, you should consider moving the fire pit off of your grass after each use. You can choose one of many places, but many folks choose their patio, deck, garage,  or storage shed. Simply bring it out when you want to use it and make sure that you put it away safely.

However, when you finish using your fire pit, you should let the fire completely burn down. You can expedite the process by spraying a healthy amount of water with your garden hose. Once the fire is no longer burning, spread the ashes out so they will cool faster. After they have cooled, pour additional water over them to make sure that nothing is still aflame. Simply use an ash scoop after the ashes are dry to remove the ashes from the pit.

If you have a cover, put the cover on now and move the fire pit back to its storage spot until the next use.

Exploring Fire Pit Pads

Simply put, fire pit pads make using a fire pit a lot safer. First of all, they provide a stable surface for which to set up your fire pit. Many fire pits are lightweight, and it’s important to have a place where they will be stable (we explore this topic fully in this article).

Additionally, fire pit pads are made specifically to protect grass, decks, and patios from a fire pit’s heat and flames. The bowl of the fire pit gives off immense heat, and the pads are there to help absorb it.

The pads themselves are extremely portable and are able to be folded up and neatly stored. This is one of the easiest and most versatile options for protecting your grass from a fire pit.

Repairing the Grass

If you’ve already scorched your grass by burning your fire pit on top of it, you’re probably wondering how best to repair the grass. I’m happy to be able to inform you that all hope is not lost and your grass can return to it’s healthy vigor. Simply follow these steps for complete lawn rehabilitation.

Mark the Area

The last thing you want is for pets, people, and children to walk all over the area you’re trying to repair. Because of this, you’ll want to mark off the area. You can cordon it off or just leave it bare, but make sure that there is no traffic on the impacted area until the grass is repaired.

Rake the Area

It’s important to create some air circulation around the grass and to slightly aerate the soil. Simply use a garden rake to move any lingering debris and poke small holes around the area for water to penetrate and for seeds to hide.

Seed

Find your type of grass and spot seed the impacted area. You should water the grass regularly to improve the chances of the seed taking hold. And be sure not to let pets and people soil the area with foot traffic.

Categorised in: Care and Maintenance