Fire Pits

An open fire at ground level with seating wrapped around it: the one fire feature everybody faces into, if you have the room for it.

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What It Is

What is a fire pit?

An open fire at ground level with seating wrapped around it. That geometry is the whole point: everyone faces inward, everyone gets the same view and the same warmth, and the conversation closes into a circle. It is the campfire arrangement, and no other fire feature reproduces it. Built-in pits are masonry or concrete structures finished to match the deck; freestanding ones are vessels you set down and can move later.

Fire pits suit people who entertain in groups and want somewhere for those groups to end up. If the honest answer to what will we actually do out here involves six people talking after dinner, this is the feature that creates that place.

The requirement is space, and more than most people budget. The pit is the small part: you need distance between flame and chairs, then the chairs, then room to walk behind them. A common rule of thumb is the pit’s diameter plus eight to twelve feet, so a three-foot pit wants eleven to fifteen feet of clear ground before any path around the outside. That makes this the fire feature most likely not to fit.

Modern patio with a square concrete fire pit surrounded by three concrete benches with dark tops, set on paver flooring.

The Menlo Fire Feature by Concrete Commander

Your options.

Paver patio with a fire pit and pool, fenced from a grassy yard with houses. — Paver Fire Pit

Size
Roughly 24 to 60 inches across, sometimes larger. 36 to 44 inches is the versatile family size, seating four to six. Smaller suits two to four; larger reads as a resort feature and eats the yard accordingly.
Built-in or freestanding
A masonry structure finished to match the deck, or a vessel that can move. Built-in reads permanent and architectural, and can incorporate a seat wall. Freestanding lets you change your mind about placement.
Shape
Round, square, or rectangular. Round is the true campfire geometry and seats people evenly. Square and rectangular suit modern layouts and pair better with linear furniture.
Seating
Loose furniture, or a built-in seat wall wrapping the pit. A seat wall never blows over, never gets put away, and doubles the pit’s presence. It also fixes your layout permanently.
Media
Fire glass, lava rock, or ceramic logs. The visible surface in daylight, when the pit is off, worth choosing as carefully as the stone around it.

Why a fire pit.

It makes a room

A fire pit turns open deck into a defined place with a purpose.

Photo placeholder: Seat wall wrapping the pit, people seated

Everyone is included

Circular seating means no one is at the back, which is the real reason these get used.

Extends the season

The single most effective way to keep a backyard usable on cool evenings.

A seat wall pays twice

Permanent seating around the pit, and a wall that shapes the whole space.

Fuel, ignition, flame sensing and clearances apply to every fire feature, so they are answered once on the overview.Fire feature FAQs

FAQs

The six questions we hear most about fire pits.

Ask the Design Team

What size fire pit do I need?

For most families, 36 to 44 inches across seats four to six comfortably. Then allow eight to twelve feet on top of that diameter for the seating ring. That total is what has to fit in your yard.

How much room does the seating ring actually need?

More than most people budget. The pit is the small part: flame to chairs, then the chairs, then room to walk behind them. Lay the whole ring out on the ground with chalk or a hose before you commit. It takes ten minutes and it settles the argument.

How far should chairs sit from a fire pit?

It depends on fuel and output. Gas burns cleaner and more contained, so seating can sit closer than around a wood fire. Manufacturer clearances are the number that matters.

Can I put a fire pit right next to the pool?

Usually yes, and fire beside water looks superb. Wind is the practical constraint: orient it so flame drifts away from the seating, and make sure the surface underneath is level.

Will the pit get in the way of the deck?

It can. The seating ring sits in the middle of everything, and if it lands across the natural path from the house to the water, people will walk through it all evening. We keep the walking lane outside the ring.

What should I ask any builder?

Three things. Can we lay out the full seating ring on the ground before we commit? What clearance does this need here, from the house and from anything overhead? And which way does the wind usually come from?