My chiminea was leaning backwards, but the area around it was very overgrown so that the cause was not apparent.
When I looked closer, I could see that the concrete base on which it sat was ajar.
When I removed the leaves that had accumulated on the base, I saw that the back portion of the base was out of place. I thought that perhaps I could just reinstall that section of the base.
When I removed the leaves that had accumulated on the base, I saw that the back portion of the base was out of place. I thought that perhaps I could just reinstall that section of the base. Once I cleared out the overgrowth in back of the chiminea, I saw that the base wasn’t the issue. The back leg (on right in photo) had collapsed, causing the weight of the chiminea to be unevenly distributed. The uneven weight likely caused the movement in the base.
This chiminea previously held a bed for a neighbor’s dog so originally did not have a base. When the dog bed was no longer needed, the neighbor discarded it and I put it back into use as a chiminea. The only base I could find was less sturdy than I wanted, but it seemed to be sturdy enough to hold temporarily. Because of my negative opinion of that base, I collected two additional, stronger bases that were discarded by neighbors over the years. I will need to replace the damaged base with one of these.
1/23/2017 Update
I found this product at Home Depot. It is Rust-o-leum High Heat spray paint that stops rust and will also withstand the high heat of the chiminea.
1/24/2017 Update
It turned out that the original base was not bent after all. The concrete pavers underneath the chiminea were set on top of sand. Either the sand shifted due to weather or it wasn’t an adequate surface for the pavers.
I removed the sand down to clay, removed clay as needed to provide a level surface. I am going to use that as a surface for two layers of smaller pavers. I left them for awhile, walking on them whenever I was in the garden to make certain the soil didn’t settle unevenly.
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2/6/2017 Update:
There appears to be no settling in the soil, so I am adding soil into the space between the pavers on the bottom level. This soil settles as I continue to walk across the area. When it appears there is enough soil in-between the pavers, I’ll add the second layer.
Labyrinth Garden 