The Benefits of Outdoor Fireplaces and Firepits

An outdoor fireplace or firepit offers a great warmth to any backyard setting. Both good ideas to keep the warm glow for hosting guests.

The static nature of the fireplace, along with a chimney, blocks prevailing winds and smoke, whereas an open pit does not, which could potentially bring in mosquitoes or other insects or pests.

Warmth and Comfort

There’s nothing quite like huddling in companionship around a roaring fire. Immediately, you’re engaging in not only togetherness but also making memories that will last a lifetime. With the mercury dropping below freezing, a fireplace is suddenly the center of outdoor gatherings when you’re inviting guests into your outdoor living space to laugh and interact around the opening in your brickwork.

An outdoor fireplace is a highly dramatic and atmospheric focal point for any outdoor pavilion or seating area and, with a structure and chimney acting as a wind screen, it makes for a far safer provider of firelighting than a fire pit, which can have the broad surface of the fire pit catching such wind currents, causing the smoke to splay much further than it ought to.

While you might not burn as much wood as you would in a fire basket, they can be more difficulty to use in smaller yards as you might not have the space and they can be a little more expensive than fire pits and can also require a bit more maintenance in the long term such a regular sweeping out.

Added Value

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A PROFILED FOCAL POINT OR A GATHERING SPACE? AN OUTDOOR FIREPLACE COULD BE THE ANSWER

However, most of this comes with built-in hassles that fire pits can easily avoid. You have to sweep out ashes and constricting debris from your fireplace frequently, provide storage space for wood, maintain your fireplace, and be prepared to satisfy certifying bodies that your construction adheres to building code rules. Fire pits have no such restrictions. They offer convenient access and an open fire. In terms of style and type of materials, your options are virtually endless.

Privacy

The fire pit gained a huge popularity this summer, what a great focal point for parties or just a night alone under the stars relaxing in your own yard, add to the ambiance with fire pits, who doesn’t like those dial sort of gnomes of volcanoes, but now they have a cameo, as an oversized outdoor heating device.

Fire features lend a degree of architectural sophistication to any landscape and commonly found incorporated into a pavilion, pergola, or gathering space, often sheltered under a trellis from the elements by walls that surround the space. Their large scale can naturally act as a backdrop for privacy, or nestle confidently within a retaining wall or planting bed.

Chimney fireplaces also provide privacy by sending their smoke out a chimney instead of into the open air active during windy evenings like wood-burning fire pits would.

Ambiance

An outdoor fire feature can make any backyard into a summertime place for family and friends to coalesce round the fire roasting marshmallows and sipping cocktails, as well as for lovers to enjoy romantic evenings together or for people to just calm down from a hectic day.

In terms of seating, creating a sense of intimacy and a space that’s always comfortable and safe will go a long way. Try to use furniture that frames the flames for a more communal feeling, such as L-shaped benches or outdoor sofas. If your new fire pit is exposed from the elements, add a canopy to keep the space safe from wind.

Family Fun

With the sun setting, a log fire becomes an irresistible focal point, inviting family and friends outside into autumn and winter evenings. Roasting marshmallows, playing backgammon or having a good chin-wag around the warm glow of a crackling fire draws everyone together.

Design and Aesthetics: Built-in outdoor fireplaces can make dramatic statement pieces for your landscape whether they are attached to a pavilion or free-standing. If your fireplace is screened to keep out sparks, make sure the wind is not blowing in the direction of the fireplace to minimise heat loss.

For those with respiratory conditions, always check with your doctor before lighting a wood-burning fireplace as they can produce more smoke and irritate the lungs.