Finish Your Yard With A Fire Pit

You have the best yard with your favorite outdoor patio furniture. It is a comfortable relaxing place to be, great for entertaining in summer, but have you considered adding an outdoor fire pit to make your yard great for those cooler nights as well. A fire pit can extend the use of your patio or yard area well into autumn, it adds warmth and atmosphere and you can cook on some of them too!

What Is A Fire Pit?

The term fire pit is used to refer to any kind of outdoor heating that is contained, i.e in a bowl or earth or other heatproof container. This includes Roman Fire pits which are free standing bowls with ornamental feet, or the Mexican chiminea( or chiminea or chimera) also free standing ovens with a chimney, or even ornamental metal ovens, these can be found with some amazing designs for showing the fire.

These is the traditional kind of outdoor fire pit, often built into the ground. It consists of a hole in the ground surrounded by bricks in which the fire is placed. Variants include raised pits, with a large metal bowl in them for holding the fire.

Also known as Roman Fire pits. These fires are great for a small gathering, as everyone can gather around them and enjoy the warmth or cook marshmallows. The pit consists of a large metal dish (traditionally of copper, but can be iron) supported on fancy feet or a pedestal. There is a metal grill that sits just inside the bowl, but not the bottom, this is where the wood is laid for the fire, the ash collects underneath in the bowl.Be warned the fire needs the air flow from underneath in order to burn well. Whilst these are traditionally wood fires, it is possible to get outdoor fireplace kits to convert them into gas fuelled fires, you would need to check suitable for conversion.

Different names for the same beast - chiminea, chimenea, or chimera, describing a common outdoor patio heater for to-days backyard. Traditionally a chiminea was an indoor oven and heater used South of the border. It was made from clay and usually placed near a window for ventilation. Today they are a charming accent to a well dressed patio. A chiminea can be made from clay, pottery or metal(usually iron). The metal ones are more popular as they are more robust and long lasting, having said that the clay ones have an appeal all of their own. The fire is placed in the belly of the oven and the smoke comes out through the chimney. These are usually wood fired, with the fire laid on a base of sand and heatproof bricks. If you will be using these to cook with, then look for a style with a door and internal grill.

There are a growing number of modern designs for fire pits. These are usually made from metal and can be box shaped containers to hold a fire in. There are other kinds with patterns around the edge of animals like bears. People have also made their own fire pits from wash tubs and the like. You could keep you eye out for a likely container and modify it  that appeals to you.

Just a word of warning fires are dangerous, so make sure that any children are well supervised when around a fire and always have an extinguisher nearby.

Okay, so which of the different types of fire pits takes your fancy? The outdoor fire pit, the Roman fire pit or the chiminea? What about the great bowl of fire?