Your Outdoor Fireplace Basics

Your own outdoor fireplace is great if you like to enjoy yourself, spending unforgettable hours with your friends and family during sunny summer days and warm and lovely fall evenings. You should know some important things before building your own fireplace.

LOCATION

Find a place in your backyard where there is a lot of ventilation. The fireplace area should be spacious enough and must not be located too close to trees, bushes, tall grass, buildings, quickly and easily flammable structures and things. As the probability of fire spreading is high, make sure that you place your fire pit somewhere around 10-15 feet from everything else.

You are free to choose whether to put your fireplace on grass or to use the cement pad under the fireplace. If you like better grass, mind that your fireplace should be balanced and level. If you use the cement pad, it should be at least 3 inches thick.

SIZE

It’s up to you how big your fireplace should be. However, if you plan to use your fireplace for cooking, it’s better to build a large one to make your cooking convenient for you. A standard size fireplace is 16 square feet. It can be much larger, however.

HEATING SOURCE

The best outdoor fireplaces are propane ones. Propane fireplaces are also the cleanest heating source when cooking on an outdoor fireplace. Using wood is not good when it comes to cooking, as it creates a lot of smoke. If you choose the propane fireplace, you won’t need to have a supply of wood nor burn it. Thus, you reduce the amount of smoke in the air and make the dishes you cook healthier and tastier.