Fire Pits
Fire Pits
When planning your outdoor living space for your home, you may have trouble deciding between having an outdoor fire pit or a fireplace. Both of these features provide additional enjoyment to any outdoor living space by providing warmth during those chilly nights along with light, relaxation, and a visual focal point. However, they each have their distinct differences that should be taken into account to give you the full experience of your outdoor living space. Below we provided those differences for you to see what fits perfectly for you.
How many people would you like your outdoor fire feature to accommodate?
An outdoor fireplace is perfect for just a few people or large gathering. It provides romantic ambiance and encourages intimate conversation while also giving that large crowd a place to gather. A fire pit is great for entertaining as it provides 360 degrees of enjoyment and creates a more casual campfire like environment.
Does your property have a view you would like to take advantage of?
A fire pit is low to the ground, and won’t draw away from an amazing view. Position the fire pit in a place where the view can be enjoyed. A fireplace has height and mass, and will become a focal point in your space. Decorative elements such as a hearth and mantel can be added.
Do you prefer wood burning or gas powered?
This is always something that comes up in conversation. Some people like the smell of the wood burning fireplaces while others like a gas powered fireplace. If you don’t have a preference, but want to contain the smell of the wood burning then we would recommend the fireplace. The fireplace will offer more confident of the smell but still allowing the fireplace to be the focal point of your outdoor living space.
Is your property affected by wind?
A fireplace is enclosed, making it easy to light even in windy conditions. Additionally, a fireplace can serve as a wind break that will protect guests. A fire pit is open and the flames can be more easily enjoyed. However, it will be difficult to light and enjoy in windy conditions.
The advantage of using a professional landscaping company such as Patriot Landscape Solutions is that we can walk you through all these decisions during the planning phase of your outdoor living area.
Fire Pits Information
Patriot Landscape offers a wide range of additional amenities for your backyard. A popular one we extend to customers is the fire pit.
Customers generally have a hard time deciding whether or not a fire pit or fireplace is the best option for your living space. Each added feature provides warmth on chilly nights along with light, relaxation, and a visual focal point. There are distinct differences between the two that you should be aware of before you make any purchases.
You want to take into account how many people you would like to accommodate, your property’s view, either a wood-burning or gas-powered preference, or if your property is affected by wind. All these factors will help you to determine which of the two, either a fire pit or fireplace are the right fit for your property. Our team of hardscape contractors will provide you with the most accurate amount of information to ease your decision.
Our hardscape contractors want to transform all your ideas into reality all the while being mindful of your budget. When hiring our team of professionals at Patriot Landscape we don’t want it to be challenging or end with bad results. We send out certified professionals with the proper credentials needed to do the job. Once you meet our dedicated hardscape contractor you are ready to move into the installation phase of either a fire pit or fireplace.
For the sake of this article, we are going to focus on fire pits instead of fireplaces.
The installation of fire pits may seem daunting, but with the right group of experts, no challenge is too difficult to meet. We will send out a hardscape contractor to meet you and evaluate your property to help determine the best location and shape of your fire pit. You will be presented with structure options to select from that meet your needs and desires.
What Can Our Hardscape Contractor Install?
We offer stone and concrete paver fire pits, but the style and shape of your pit will determine the types of blocks that will be used in construction. For example, fire pit rings need trapezoidal blocks. These blocks are narrower on one side and allow for the edges to fit together for a circle without gaps. Meanwhile, a square fire pit uses rectangular blocks and can be constructed in different patterns with blocks in diverse shapes and sizes.
After you decide upon the constituents of the fire pit we will take it upon ourselves to outline the footprint of the fire pit. Components like diameter, dimensions, and perimeter are all measured exactly in order to cement the first layer of blocks onto the patio and prevent shifting.
From there we add gravel on top of the compacted dirt to create the base of your fire pit. We pour a significant amount of crushed gravel paver base into the hole so the finished base will measure out to be a certain level of thickness. We then wet the gravel thoroughly with a garden hose and then compact it into a hard layer a few inches below the surface. Our hardscape contractor will check the base at several points to ensure it is level – if not, he or she will make the necessary adjustments. Our team will lay out the first layer of blocks on top of the level gravel base. It is important for the sides of the blocks to be touching for maximum support.
As we move around the perimeter of the hole with the blocks we continuously check the layer in several places to see if the structure is even. When the first layer is complete, we then begin to assemble the second level of blocks and so on.
The bowl and insert rings of the fire pit come in several sizes, so during this phase, we check to see if the bowl or rings fit. If the bowl or rings fit, and it is necessary to maybe make some slight adjustments, we do so. As we wrap up our project we use construction adhesive between the layers of blocks to secure them in place.
A general rule of thumb when it comes to fire pits is they typically have three or four rows of blocks. It isn’t common to see anything more than that on a regular basis. Patriot Landscape keeps you informed during the entire process of constructing your fire pit and never wants you to feel left out. You are more than welcome to ask our hardscape contractors any questions you like and discuss each phase of the construction.
Call Patriot Landscape Today
Patriot Landscape is a full-service landscape design company that provides for Florida. We know how the climate in Florida can be and know how it will affect your landscaping. Leave it to us, the professionals when it comes to having the most curb appeal. We can guarantee our services will not leave you disappointed.
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