How To Make A Concrete Fire Bowl

One great way to enjoy the outdoors is with fire. This is a great piece to have whether you’re home or camping. What makes this fire bowl fantastic is how easy it is to transport and store due to its small footprint. It is constructed from high-strength concrete, and all you need are two large bowls to cast it. The forms I used were plastic catering bowls, and they were responsible for the sheen on the exterior. Below are instructions to help you create a Concrete Fire Bowl of your own, as well as the video.

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Watch the Full Video!

1. Mixing the Concrete and Making the Form

Note: I would recommend using a separate mixing container. I used the same large bowl, but the scratches from the shovel transferred to the concrete fire bowl form.

Add concrete mix into a bowl and add water. Be sure to mix the concrete well, per package instructions. Do not overwater; doing so will make the curing process longer and also weaken the form.
You can oil the inside of your large bowl to provide an easier release.
Add concrete to the large bowl. Then sit the smaller bowl in the form and press down. You’ll want to do this so you can see how much concrete you will actually need. Once you find how much you need, you should clean the smaller bowl. Dry it off and oil the outside of it.
Place the smaller bowl in the concrete, then place weights on top. Anything will work that is heavy enough to prevent the bowl from rising.
Vibrate the bowl using a sander and a mallet. The goal is to get the bubbles to rise to the top and escape the form.

2. Removing the Fire Bowl Form

After three days of sitting, remove the concrete from the bowl. I was blown away by how well this came out. It was like glass, the bowl had a sheen on it and that transferred to the concrete. If a bowl with a flat coat was used instead, it would still look good but not shiny.

3. Sanding The Concrete Fire Bowl Lip

The top edge was a bit rough. To clean it up, I sanded it down using sandpaper.  Starting off with 80 grit sandpaper to knock it down some. Then switched to 120 grit and 220 grit to smooth it. The higher in grit, the smoother it will be.

4. Making The Rock Support

• I used some construction wire mesh to support the marbles. You can get creative here if you don’t want to handle the wire mesh. Some alternative options include chicken wire or a barbecue grill grate.
• I shaped the mesh to sit in the bowl. You can find the mesh at your local hardware store. I use tin snips to cut the mesh down to size and my hands to shape it.
• Once you cut the wire mesh, it can be very sharp, so be sure to bend over the sharp ends to be safe for handling.

5. Light Your Fire Bowl Up

• For the Fire, I found this Gel Fuel on Amazon. It has about 6 hours of burning time. To kill the fire, I usually just smother it. I don’t have one, but you can also get a flame snuffer to put out the fire.

The process

• Remove the lid from the can, then place the can in the bowl
• Add the mesh
• Add the rocks/ marbles (leave the center open) the fire needs to breathe
• Light it up!

There you have it, your own concrete fire bowl to keep your outdoors inviting; you can also use Citronella lamp oil for the bonus of keeping mosquitos at bay! Be sure to buy a smokeless “clean” option if you plan to place this on a table or indoors. Want to see this on a 450-pound scale? Check out our DIY Fire Pit using a repurposed washing machine drum, or for an option that doesn’t involve fire, be sure to read our DIY Concrete Lamp article!
Check out our other plans and articles for more DIY creation, and don’t forget to leave a comment on our Instagram @morediycreators!

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