Outdoor fireplaces and fire pits are becoming more popular landscaping accents as homeowners work to extend the weeks they can spend enjoying their yard, decks and patios. They create a warm and inviting atmosphere that urges people to spend more time outside even in chilly weather. Homeowners should not buy one without careful consideration first. Fire pits and exterior fireplaces have some great benefits, but some potentially serious drawbacks as well.
From the dawn of man, sitting around a roaring fire has provided warmth, light and some protection against the things that lurk in the dark. Adding an outdoor fireplace to your back yard can do the same. When deciding if buying one is right for your family, consider the following practical benefits:
1 – Provides light for outdoor entertaining
2 – Provides heat to extend the time you can relax outdoors
3 – Opportunity to cook some food outdoors
4 – They can even help keep mosquitoes away!
Before you head to the store to pick up an outdoor fireplace, it is important to understand that there can be serious drawbacks as well. A fire pit must be placed a certain distance from all buildings and outside furniture to be in compliance with fire codes. Poorly constructed ones increase the possible danger. An open fire of any type can throw sparks quite a distance away. No one wants their house to burn down.
If your family has small children, extra consideration is also needed. Kids can be naturally curious about fire and protections must be put in place. Hot coals may still smolder even after the fire has died down.
Also, in some municipalities, open fires are forbidden by law. Always check with your local offices before you decide on a fire pit or outdoor fireplace.
Practical reasons for and against buying or building a fire pit or fireplace on your patio or out in your yard should be considered first. Now it is time to let your imagination roam free. Friends and family sitting around a flickering fire in the backyard, toasting marshmallows and warming their faces in the orange glow.
Many people have memories from childhood of fun times around a campfire or fireplace inside the house. Remember roasting marshmallows or telling ghost stories around one? The primal attraction to fire translates well into socializing near one. They create a warm, welcoming, homey ambiance for family and guests.
When deciding whether an outdoor fireplace or fire pit is right for your home and family, it takes more than remembering the good times camping as a child and the potential for late night parties on the patio. Safety, local laws and ordinances and practical considerations should be considered first.
With the wide range of open and chimney-ed fire apparatus specifically built for outside available, homeowners can find the perfect one to match their needs and landscaping preferences.
