Fire pits? Any negatives?

[bassadict69]

We are wanting to put in a flagstone gas firepit when we build our pool. Anyone have pics of theirs?

Anyone build one themselves? Debating on whether to attempt to build myself or let the stone guys do it...

 

[JoyfulNoise]

We love ours but it's not near our pool. Most expensive part was running the NG gas line to it. The landscaper we hired built it out of brick. Inside is filled with a base of lava rock and then glass chunks.

Great for s'mores!

 

[ctrav]

Ver very nice...

 

[bassadict69]

Nice! Love it...

 

[sham]

Beautiful! and that Texas Sage--wow!!!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks.

We call those "Texas rangers" around here and that particular shot of it was from last year. I have since cut it back to more than half that height. One thing I love about those shrubs is you can literally cut them back to a single stalk at the ground and it will vigorously grow right back. If you only prune then once in the early spring, you can leave it all year and never have to touch it. It will blossom with those vibrant purple flowers every time it rains.

As for the pot of basil behind it, well let's just say that I used every leaf of it in my various gastronomical explorations....

 

[Swampwoman]

MATTTT...you have my slate floor on your patio I'm so jealous. I installed that mesh slate through my kitchen, poolside bath and hall en route to pool. But mfg, SwampHubby and installer ganged up on me and said it could not be used around the pool due to freeze-thaw here in MI ;(

Clearly i should consider retiring to AZ where such wonders are possible. Gorgeous little spot you have there!

 

[J4CKBOLT]

Yes assuming you are running Nat. Gas. I have tried both propane (heavier than air) which is dangerous IMO and wood (can be very smokey if not done right).

 

[JoyfulNoise]

MATTTT...you have my slate floor on your patio I'm so jealous. I installed that mesh slate through my kitchen, poolside bath and hall en route to pool. But mfg, SwampHubby and installer ganged up on me and said it could not be used around the pool due to freeze-thaw here in MI ;(

Clearly i should consider retiring to AZ where such wonders are possible. Gorgeous little spot you have there!

I'll have to go look up the name of those pavers. I'd say it's one of the few parts of the backyard job that the landscaper did that I'm happy with. It looks beautiful when it's wet as the colors really pop (gold flecks, reds, browns, etc). When it's dry, all the pavers blend together.

 

[Swampwoman]

Aside: I know what they look like wet...I used a deep penetrating sealer on mine to bring out the warm tones in the house You can use them indoor or out in most climates...the slate has a mesh backing so there's design consistency in the pattern. I just love em and am still very tempted to overlay my concrete pool deck with them, freeze cycle be darned
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Bassaddict, sorry about the side comments and my excitement to see "my" slate on Matt's deck, BUT I may have a few thoughts for you as a result

I looked into retrofitting my pool deck with a permanent fire pit, but didn't end up doing it because I ended up needing the freedom to move it for winter to install the dome that allows me to swim in winter up here. So presently, I'm using a portable propane one, which has worked out well as I move it to my house deck in winter for pre-swim warm up

If you're installing a gas line anyway for a heater, then the cost of the extra bit of run is likely reduced a great deal and permanent is normally the way to go.

If you want to save a bit of money, a buddy of mine built his own and said it was pretty easy. Wish I had a pic for you or knew where he sourced the gorgeous black polished stone topper he put around it.

But in a new build if you're not sure how you're going to use the deck, etc., you might also just want to get the gasline close to the area and cap it, then decide after a season where you actually want it/will use it most, and experiment with a portable one in the mean time.

It kinda depends on how generous your footprint is.
They're about $400 at a big box store, so a low-cost experiment compared to a permanent installation...at least compared to the components I was looking at, which were a few grand before installation.

Is you deck all flagstone, or were you referring to constructing it out of flagstone?
Or did you want to offset a pit area like in the pic below?

Also, have you considered a Fire Table? I've found that people enjoy being able to set their drinks down, and that you then have the daytime utility of using the table. Something like this might be the best of both worlds: Sierra Linear Fire Pit Table | WoodlandDirect.com: Outdoor Fireplaces: Fire Pits - Gas, The Outdoor Greatroom

 

[dw886]

We had our landscaper build ours out of block. It was filled with pea rock, and then I added linear natural gas burners. Just lit it up last week for the first time. If you have the skill set to build the structure yourself, I'd say go for it.

 

[Brentr]

We had our landscaper build ours out of block. It was filled with pea rock, and then I added linear natural gas burners. Just lit it up last week for the first time. If you have the skill set to build the structure yourself, I'd say go for it. View attachment 67317View attachment 67318View attachment 67319

Wow that is nice Congrats

 

[bassadict69]

At the moment, we have a swing at the edge of our patio that sits on our wooden deck and a table in front of it...Just behind that (further from the house) is where the sunning ledge for the pool will start. The swing is where we always sit on the deck and watch the lake, ducks, etc. Where the table sits now is where we want to put the firepit. The wooden deck is being ripped out when we build the pool.

We have an existing flagstone patio on the side of the wooden deck and rather than make all of the new patio flagstone, we plan to have flagstone coping around the pool and want to do the pit in flagstone.

 

[woodyp]

<<<<<<<<<<......Sends Matt extradition papers for that "Texas" sage he swiped!

 

[Blu Gardenia]

Yes assuming you are running Nat. Gas. I have tried both propane (heavier than air) which is dangerous IMO and wood (can be very smokey if not done right).

Can you please clarify why you think propane is dangerous? We're planning on a fire pit and had thought we'd do propane. We will have a spa that is gas heated, but were concerned about the cost to run a long gas line over to the pit...

 

[xFLYNNx]

Can you please clarify why you think propane is dangerous? We're planning on a fire pit and had thought we'd do propane. We will have a spa that is gas heated, but were concerned about the cost to run a long gas line over to the pit...

Like he said, LP is heavy than air. If you put to much media over it the lp could drop down into your pit prior to ignition and build up then when it ignites you've got a bunch of gas blowing up on you. LP gas pools whereas nat gas is lighter than air and will naturally rise up into the air.

 

[J4CKBOLT]

Agreed. I had a wood burning fire pit and installed a kit to run off LP. Only used it twice and took the LP kit out and went back to firewood. LP is dangerous IMO so I would not recommend to anyone. Nat. Gas or wood is fine, do not use LP.

 

[Chopjaw]

We love ours but it's not near our pool. Most expensive part was running the NG gas line to it. The landscaper we hired built it out of brick. Inside is filled with a base of lava rock and then glass chunks.

Great for s'mores!

What decking pavers are those? Type and color?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What decking pavers are those? Type and color?

I believe they are Belgard Seville Collection and they are the Seville Catalina pavers. Not totally sure of the color, mostly reddish brown with some gold tones in it. Collection include four block types (12x12, 9x12, 6x12 & 9x9) with a 4x9 header brick. Pattern is random placement. They are fairly “cheap” pavers as far as cost goes. The backyard project ran out of funds and so we were cutting a lot of things at the end to save cash. Unfortunately there are many things that were kept in the plans which, in hindsight, I wish we had ditched in favor of nicer pavers and more built in seating. Such is life though...

 

[BMK]

Can you please clarify why you think propane is dangerous? We're planning on a fire pit and had thought we'd do propane. We will have a spa that is gas heated, but were concerned about the cost to run a long gas line over to the pit...

There are two kinds of propane gas fire pits: DIY and commercial.

Commercial fire pits pose little risk. They have been designed and built to keep the propane where it is intended, and the piping has generally been pressure tested to insure no leaks.

DIY fire pits from a reputable kit mfr are as safe as commercially manufactured fire pits. The kit is generally designed with an extra safety factor to account for the worst-case lack of experience of a backyard builder.

I would not hesitate to use either a kit or a pre-manufactured fire pit. There are literally tens of thousands of such LP fire pits in use every day with no issue.

I would not, however, attempt to build a propane system and burner from scratch, or attempt to retrofit an LP burner into a housing not designed specifically for LP, without a complete understanding of the necessary piping and venting unique to an LP delivery system.