My Backyard Experiments

[Boggy Man]

However, that was solved by using the spoil from the pit to raise the surrunding ground.

That sounds like the easiest solution. Just use dirt/fill to build up the surrounding ground to make the hole deeper. Best to have the dirt damp enough to stick together, so it won't collapse into the hole as you build it up.

[Mynock]

If you want to raise the pit up instead of lower it, you can buy interlocking bricks that are designed for retaining walls too, would give your pit a strong structure and nice finish.

[Theo]

Interesting conversion and suggestions. I don't think the rock is granite, most of it's that white/orange stuff that practically splinters when you hit it. Otherwise I don't think I would've gotten as far as I did.

I liked Fred's idea of rising the surrounding ground and had actually though of it, and I kind of did that with the low side. But to raise the other side, I'd probably have to bring in more dirt or blocks, which I do have a small pile of dirt (or probably mostly rocks). Only thing is, it was nice to have a big flat spot to crawl out on, and if I use blocks, I'll have to crawl over them to get out. We'll see, I still have 4-5 months before it's warm enough to think about it.

[SunbeamZero]

This is why I personally prefer to have my own backyard. Having a house with one in Texas is a lot of money for a traditional house with a mortgage payment.