Firepits are one of the most popular additions to any landscaping project. If you have the space, adding a fire feature is a great way to add drama and intrigue to just about any outdoor setting. Unfortunately this wonderful landscape addition comes with a lot of caveats. Let’s face it, any time you’re dealing with fire there are lots of regulations and safety features that must be taken into consideration; all of which add up to something that can cost you a lot of money. One of the best ways to help cut costs is to use a precast outdoor fireplace in your design.
In the past using an outdoor fireplace kit or a custom built outdoor fireplace was really your only option when it came to incorporating this type of landscape feature. The problem of course is that kits are very generic and custom jobs are very expensive. Fortunately precast fireplaces offer the intrepid homeowner a happy medium where they can find a great balance between cost and design.
Precast fireplaces can be found with all types of different finishes including brick, stone and even metal. Generally however despite the convincing façades they are all constructed out of concrete for durability and safety reasons. Interestingly you can also find precast fire features they use a variety of different ignition sources. The most inexpensive used traditional combustion items like wood. The next step up makes use of gas for added convenience (with a moderately increased price tag). Lastly you will find, if you are lucky, video fireplaces. These are very technical and expensive pieces of machinery that use projection technology to create the illusion of fire without actually burning anything.
If you have the space and the budget a precast outdoor fireplace is definitely something that you may want to consider adding to your backyard. Not only are they downright gorgeous, but they also can increase the value of your property to potential buyers. There is simply nothing quite like an outdoor fire feature. You can have all the expensive mantles you want in your home; but when you take the indoors outside with a well-built fire feature you are really making a statement regarding how much you care about your property and how much you like to enjoy your downtime.