Outdoor Fireplaces

Outdoor Firepit Construction

Constructing an Outdoor Living Area?

Do you have a space in your yard you would like to make better use of? Perhaps you spend enough time indoors during the week and would like to have a place outdoors to entertain, socialize and relax. That’s completely understandable.

Outdoor chimney and fireplaces are more common for that very reason. There is something special about a burning fire with a group of friends. It just feels right, and relaxing. On cooler nights though people pick up and go indoors sometimes before they want to. Those portable fire pits can be handy for cooking marshmallows on for the kids, or keeping the mosquitos away at dusk but they are not built for producing heat.

With the right fireplace a warm radiant heat is produced that you can feel. This can keep you outdoors longer into the season, perhaps even into the winter!

What are the obstacles for an outdoor fireplace?

As we begin to plan the fireplace for the outdoor living area we must identify some potential issues. It needs to be away from the main house or else the top of the chimney would need to be built according to the height requirements for chimneys, which is well above the roofline. Not something we want to do with a detached fireplace and chimney. Another obstacle when building a real wood burning fireplace is trees, bushes, shrubs and other vegetation or overgrowth. They need to be cut back and no trees should overhang a wood burning unit of any kind.

When adding something as permanent as a chimney care must also be taken not to encroach on property lines. A footing will need to be dug and proper procedures such as calling Dig Safe should be utilized as well.

Are outdoor fireplaces built differently than indoor units?

Constructing an outdoor chimney and fireplace isn’t much different than building a chimney with an indoor fireplace. A damper isn’t required as there is no heated room air to seal off from going up the flue when not in use.

Care must be taken when selecting the mortar that is used on completely exterior wood burning fireplaces. As always a qualified masonry contractor should be used to build this type of chimney, not a landscaper or others that are claiming experience with this construction. The wrong mortar that is exposed to heat, creosote, and moisture will degrade at an accelerated rate.

Outdoor fireplace construction materials

Deciding what materials to construct the chimney with isn’t limited in any way. If you can dream it up we can build it! Our signature masonry chimneys are usually built with one of the following:

• Brick
• Stone
• Block

Outdoor fireplace design details

The details are where an outdoor fireplace gets its character. Some of the ones we can build in:

• Arches and keystones over the firebox opening
• Quoins at the corners, in a contrasting stone or color
• Corbeling under the mantel or hearth, the old way of stepping masonry out to carry weight
• Radius hearths with a curved front edge, which make a natural place to sit
• Stone hearths and mantels in granite or other natural stone
• A stone cap on top of the chimney to keep water out of the masonry

Mix and match them. If you've seen one you like, send us the photo.

We build outdoor fireplaces throughout Worcester County, Middlesex County, and Norfolk County. If you'd like to schedule an estimate for your outdoor fireplace project, give us a call at (978) 365-6800 or fill out our online contact form and we'll get right back to you.