Spending time outside does not necessarily have to be a lengthy and complicated adventure. One can spend a lot of time outside merely by building an outdoor fire pit. Relaxing with a few friends around a homemade fire is better for you and more fun than any of the screen-based entertainment that people spend too much time on today. Spending a lot of time outside can be as crucial for your physical and mental health as eating right or knowing where to find the best cheap supplements.
Building a homemade fire pit is relatively simple and straightforward; however, there are a few precautions that one must take beforehand. First, you must make sure that it is legal to build a fire pit in your location. Your local fire codes probably do allow for recreational fires, but there may be some limitations involved. A massive fire may not be permitted. Make sure to contact your local fire department before going ahead with it. A fire pit must also be well built to be safe. A crude ring of stones is not good enough. Put a bit of time into the project – building the pit is a healthy outdoor activity in itself. Dig out the ground just a little first, fill up the shallow hole with gravel, and use cement blocks rather than stones to build the ring. Make sure that the ring is reasonably high, as if the rocks are too close to the ground, the fire can quickly spread. Sparks and embers can travel farther than you think, so make sure that the fire pit is far enough away from anything likely to catch fire.
Whether you are building a fire pit at a campsite far from home or in your backyard, it should be possible to have fun with a homemade fire pit without risking any injury or any damage to property. Especially if you are building a fire at a campsite and not in your backyard, you should make sure that the forest is not very dry and likely to catch fire. Starting a campfire in the driest part of the summer can easily lead to a forest fire that does millions of dollars worth of damage. The most crucial safety tip of all is, of course, to make sure that the fire is entirely out before you abandon it. Even after the fire appears to be entirely out, pour another few buckets of water on it. As long as you make sure to extinguish the fire completely, there is little risk involved.