As I’ve gotten older, I really enjoy staying home more and more. I have kids, and don’t really want to get a babysitter for them every weekend. I want to hang out at home, relaxing in my own private oasis. When we are home we like to cook yummy dinners, watch movies, and make s’mores over the fire pit. My backyard is not quite where I want it to be yet, but it’s getting there. Recently Imgur user bsol27 posted a project that him and his father did over the Memorial Day weekend. They were going to have a few people over for the Memorial Day holiday, and wanted to make it really special for everyone involved. I’m pretty jealous of their project.
They started this big project off by digging a hole about 15′ in diameter. They left the middle section because they were originally going to pour a concrete pad there for a fire pit to rest on, but they changed their mind.
They ended up digging out that center piece of grass making this circle 15′ in diameter, which will be ideal for this project.
They dug a hole on one side which would act as a drain in case it rained. They ended up filling the hole with stone to complete the drainage system.
To protect the circle against weeds, they laid down a weed barrier. This would keep the area weed free and low maintenance.
They started to collect some rectangular stones that would work well for the fire pit.
His uncle owns a construction site and for some reason had a lot of white sand sitting at his garage, not being used. They laid it all out while he wasn’t home, but it ended up looking great. Once the sand was all laid down and leveled out, they added the fire pit in the middle.
He had a hammock that wasn’t being used, and thought this would be the perfect spot for it. He dug two large holes outside of the circle, then put two 4×4’s in the middle and added the concrete. Once the concrete was dry, they added two large screw in hooks so they could hang up the hammock.
Next up was the fun part! They wanted a backyard projector but didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg on it. They ended up building one using 1/2″ PVC pipe. They made the frame 8′ by 10′. They ended up needing 4 L-joints for the frame and 4 T-joints for the base.
They found an 8′ by 10′ white tarp on Amazon that already had holes reinforced. They used bungee cords to attach it to the frame.
He ended up building a stand that would hold the projector, the Playstation 3 he used as a DVD/Blu Ray player, along with the speakers.
When they originally set up the stand, it was very windy. They had to put a few weights on the legs, then decided to rest the projector against a pavilion they were building. They may attach some lines to hold it into place in the future.
For opening night they decided to watch Guardians Of The Galaxy. This seems like a great way to end a holiday weekend.
They added a few chairs around the fire pit and it was all ready to go and be broken in.
They lit the inaugural fire using their newly upgraded backyard and were ready for a Memorial weekend movie night!
This looks so relaxing, a fire pit and a movie! They definitely have a very large backyard, but what a great way to use up the space.
While I don’t have this much space in my backyard, the projector itself would be a fun thing to add. You could have summer movie nights and even if you didn’t invite the neighbors over, you could still entertain them. The projector seems like it would be an easy thing to tuck away when it’s not being used too without taking up too much space. This Imgur user and his dad did a great job on the project, and will be entertaining their family and friends for years to come.