Fire becomes popular backyard feature

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By Alma Gaul | Sunday, June 11, 2006 3:10 AM CDT | () comments

John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Greg and Denise Hester had their firepit installed by Labor Day last fall, and began using it again for the season in April. “Even in summer, after the sun goes down, the fire feels good and it keeps bugs away,” Denise says. The Hester family, including Sydney, Taylor and Jack, can sit on the retaining wall around the pit or pull up a chair.

Fire fascinates. Since time began, humans have been drawn to dancing flames, an attraction that has made fireplaces a sought-after feature in homes long after they lost their primary value for heating or cooking. There also is the cozy communal appeal of sitting around a fire with other people.

Now, increasingly, the fireplace is moving outside. Fire pits, fire bowls, chimineas, even free-standing fireplaces are becoming popular backyard additions, with homeowners spending from around a hundred dollars on up into the thousands.

Andrew and Melanie O’Brien of Davenport enjoy camping and sitting around campfires, so having a fire bowl in their back yard is the best of both worlds. They can enjoy the fire and ambiance, but then, as Melanie says, “we can go inside and sleep in our bed.”

Greg and Denise Hester of Bettendorf built their fire ring because “sitting around the fire is a great way to entertain,” Denise says. The couple’s three children, ages 4 to 10, are pretty happy with it, too.

Bob and Kandi McIlwain were inspired to build two large stone fire rings at their Pleasant Valley home three years ago because they admire the work of Jens Jensen, a Chicago garden designer in the early 1900s who created fire rings as a signature piece.

One of the beauties of a fire feature is that it can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, and it is available in all price ranges.

At the simple end, you can buy a free-standing fire bowl at a home center for under $100, or you can build a fire ring yourself in your back yard simply by clearing a section of lawn, arranging a circle of stone or brick to contain the wood and putting a stone or gravel base inside.

For more money, you can hire a professional to build a circle of stones with a crushed stone bed and stainless steel insert and a matching stone wall for sitting. The cost for a stone ring 16 inches tall and three feet in interior diameter would be about $290, plus installation, Donovan Altenhofen, of Quint-City Stone, Davenport, says. A stainless steel insert would be about $100.

The advantage of an insert, Donovan says, is that it is installed so that there is an air gap between it and the stone, protecting the stone from overheating and deteriorating. For $40 more, you can buy a grille so that you could use your fire ring for cooking. You could even use charcoal on the bed instead of wood.

Another innovation in fire pits is a gas-powered fire ring with faux logs, much like a gas log fireplace inside. Building this involves the extra step of tapping into or running a separate natural gas line, but you can have an instant fire. “Everybody’s on the go — they don’t have time to chop wood and clean up, says Rob Wolfe of R.J. Wolfe & Sons Landscaping, Davenport. “Everything’s about simplifying things these days.”

Also, some people don’t like the smell of wood smoke. “I wasn’t sure I wanted my guests leaving smelling like a camp fire,” says Leslie Hunnemuller of Davenport, who had a gas fire pit installed as part of a backyard renovation. Still others are concerned about burning embers that could cause a fire hazard or could blow onto their swimming pool cover, creating holes.

Some homeowners are thinking even bigger than rings, stepping up to actual fireplaces. This year Quint-City Stone began carrying a fireplace kit that includes a 36-inch firebox and the landscape block for a surround and a seven-foot tower. The kit costs around $1,700; veneer stone, to give the box and tower a pleasing appearance, is extra, typically costing between $500 and $1,000, Altenhofen says.

Meyer Landscape & Design, Moline, also began stocking a freestanding outdoor fireplace this year. The exterior is a combination of stucco and tile and it is available in gas or wood-burning versions, Kurt Meyer says. The wood-burning model is about 5½ feet wide and three feet deep and has a 7½-foot-tall chimney. It costs $4,745 to $5,365, plus installation. The gas model is more squared-off, measuring about 3½ feet tall. It costs $4,999, plus installation.

An advantage of the less expensive, free-standing bowls is that they are completely portable — you can move them around and set them wherever you like, even take them with you should you decide to move.

Background

The trend toward backyard fire features started in the Midwest perhaps 10 years ago when chimineas began making their way from the Southwest where the Mexican-inspired pieces had been used for years.

Chimineas still are popular in the Quad-Cities, but metal versions may be a better bet than clay for this climate because clay can crack with moisture and temperature changes, Mark Skinner, of The Green Thumbers, Davenport, explains.

Fire pits or bowls offer an advantage over chimineas in that the fire can be seen from all sides, he points out.

Todd Weibenga, of Aunt Rhodies in the Village of East Davenport, says his company installed its first fire pit about eight to 10 years ago, and within the last three years “they have become mainstream — people ask for them.”

Quint-City began selling materials for fire pits four to five years ago, and “it doubles every year,” Altenhofen says.

Alma Gaul may be contacted at

(563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com.