Project Overview
My dad has always wanted a fire pit for our home, and after completing extensive masonry work last summer on my Eswatini Bridge Project and taking an Architecture course at Duke, I offered to design and build one in our yard.
So far, I have worked with him to document the existing backyard, collect dimensions, and create a SketchUp mockup of the yard layout. This helped us visualize the placement of the fire pit, patio base, and surrounding space before beginning construction.
The stone fire pit has now been built, and the project is continuing as I prepare the surrounding patio surface and refine the final layout. This project has been a meaningful opportunity to combine architecture, engineering, and hands-on construction in a personal design-build setting.
Current Backyard Setup
These photos show the existing backyard conditions and the space where the patio redesign is taking shape.
SketchUp Site Model
To plan the redesign, I created a SketchUp model of the backyard using measured site dimensions. This allowed us to evaluate the fire pit location, surrounding patio layout, circulation space, and how the finished design would fit into the existing yard.
Rendered Design
I also created a rendered view of the proposed patio redesign to study the layout, material choices, and overall atmosphere of the finished space. The rendering helps communicate the design intent before the remaining construction steps are completed.
