Right next to the patio, we had an old brick flower box that we never really planted in. For fun, we dug out the dirt, replaced it with pea gravel, and turned the planter into a (woodburning) firebox. The only problem is that the cement capper that rimmed the box has not reacted well to the hot fires and has cracked in several places. For an experiment, we put some left-over bluestone pavers we had on top of the brick box, and sure enough, they cracked, too.

I saw an episode of Yard Crashers recently where they topped a cement firebox with slate, but my husband is skeptical that they will crack, too. I asked the local stoneyard/landscaping business if they have any fireproof bricks that we could use, but they said no - we're pretty rural, so not a lot of other options around here.

Any great ideas? FYI - the stoneyard were we bought the bluestone and the pea gravel does sell slate.

Thanks for any help in advance!