Big Bend Landscaping builds a lot of fire pits for our St. Louis area clients and we have yet to hear any of them say, “Gosh! I sure am sorry I have a fire pit now.” Most people can’t believe they ever lived without one. When you add a fire pit to your outdoor living space, you create an entirely new reason to enjoy your yard. Fire pits are useful for many reasons—more than we have time to discuss today. So we are sharing just ten of our favorites.
Add a Fire Pit! It’s Useful Year-Round
Fire pits are an all-season outdoor feature. You can incorporate them into every gathering during every season. New Year’s Eve Parties are more fun around a fire pit. Valentine Day will be even more romantic with you and your significant other cozied up with something to drink in front of the flames. Mother’s Day, 4th of July, Back-to-School Parties, Halloween, Christmas, and more—are all improved by the presence of a lit fire pit.
And you don’t even need a special occasion to enjoy yours! You can light it any time you want to put your feet up and enjoy your outdoor space. You work hard for the life you have. Take time to enjoy it.
A Great Centerpiece
It doesn’t matter where you put your fire pit—whether it’s in the middle of your outdoor living area or off the side, it will become a centerpiece. The mere presence and the seats placed around it—whether you rely on a permanent structure like a seating wall or separate seating or a combination of both—will invite people to gather around it.
When you add one to your outdoor living space contained by beautiful pavers, it will invariably attract the eye of anyone who sees it.
Customizable
When Big Bend Landscaping talks to you about adding a fire pit to your outdoor living space, one of the things we will ask you about is how you envision using yours.
Fire pits are highly customizable. Whether you like a modern or rustic appearance or something completely unique to you, we can design your fire pit to fit your wishes. The size of yours is entirely dependent on what you want. Some people enjoy entertaining big groups regularly and find that a large fire pit meets their needs. Others prefer cozy gatherings of close friends and family; they find that a smaller one is better suited.
Versatile
Adding a fire pit to your outdoor living space or patio is easy! Big Bend Landscaping offers three types of fuel burning fire pits. The one you choose entirely depends on what you prefer.
- Wood: Wood is a readily available fuel source. Especially if you have trees in your own back yard! Though you may find it easier to buy seasoned firewood, that’s already ready to burn. The ones that burn wood are useful for burning deadfall and small twigs. It requires more clean-up than the other fuels do. And if you plan to use your fire pit regularly and want to have wood available on short notice, storing it is sometimes more of a headache than many want to deal with. But the trade-off may be worth it. There’s nothing quite like sitting in front a crackling, traditional fire.
- Propane: Propane is readily available in small tanks and lighting the fire is as easy as turning, pulling out a lighter, and turning a knob. It’s cleaner than wood and better for people who are sensitive to changes in air quality. But the price will vary just like gas prices do and it may be a headache to budget for it.
- Natural Gas: Like propane, natural gas fire pits are clean and easy to light. However, unless you already have a natural gas line running to your home and/or backyard, it can be expensive to set up.
Safe
When used properly, a permanently placed fire pit is safer than a fire ring or a portable metal fire pit. While fire rings work well for campgrounds that are laid out with campfires in mind. But in backyards, there is more of a risk of a fire spreading.
Portable fire pits are nice for people who don’t plan to use one too often, but require constant attentiveness as they can be knocked over or bumped. They rarely last as long as one that is constructed from pavers and the pans are often made of cheaper metal.
Big Bend Landscaping only uses the highest quality materials from companies like Belgard, Pavestone, Romanstone, and BP pavers that offer lifetime guarantees . We build fire pits with entirely fireproof materials—metal, special fireproof brick and pavers. And we design them so that a large metal pan and a ridge of pavers prevent the flames from spreading.
Fire pits built from high-quality materials will withstand years of use with just a little preventative maintenance. This means that when you add a fire pit to your outdoor living space, you’re making a great investment! And speaking of investments…
Adds Value to Your Home
A well-designed, well-placed fire pit accompanied by a patio can increase the value of your home. People who are house shopping love the idea of moving into a home with an existing, high quality outdoor living area. And a fire pit will play a large role in attracting the eye of the prospective buyer. So, when you add one of these to your outdoor living space, you are not just adding something you will enjoy as long as you live in your home, you’re investing in the value of your home.
Since Big Bend Landscaping uses only the best materials and offers a transferable five-year guarantee on our work, if you sell your home during that period, the buyer is getting our guarantee too. And this makes it an even better investment.
Provide Light and Warmth
Fire pits are useful tools for extending the use of your outdoor living area. It provides a warm and welcome light after dark. People will be tempted to linger longer in your beautiful yard. And in cooler weather, people will gather around it and enjoy the cozy warmth of the fire and the companionship of others.
Create Atmosphere
Modern lighting just doesn’t create a cozy atmosphere the same way a warm fire does. If you let it, your fire pit will say a lot of things for you. Things like:
- Stay a little longer.
- Cuddle up with your favorite person
- Enjoy the company of the person next to you
- Have another glass.
- Have more hot cocoa.
- Know any good campfire songs?
Great Tool in an Emergency
Winter in St. Louis often brings challenges. And those challenges sometimes translate to living without electricity for some short stretches. During times like this, having an alternative source of heat and a way to cook can be handy. In a pinch, your fire pit can provide both. When you add one to your outdoor living space, you are adding an emergency backup plan to your arsenal.
When you talk with Big Bend Landscaping about how you intend to use yours, be sure and discuss this feature with us so we can help you choose the fuel that will best meet your needs in an emergency.
And Great Teaching Tool
Got kids and a wood burning fire pit? Then you’ve got a great tool for teaching them about fire safety, how to build a campfire, and how to cook over a fire. We will never be beyond needing to know this.
Invite your kids’ friends over (with parents’ permission, of course) and walk them through the safest, most effective way to build a camp fire. And kids will love learning how. You can talk to them about fire safety, respect for the flames, and the environment. Then you can all eat the food you prepare over your fire pit!
Just don’t forget to caution them about never building a fire without an adult’s permission and supervision!
Conclusion
As you can see, your fire pit is great for every season and there are lots of ways to incorporate it into events and family gatherings! When you are ready to add a fire pit to your outdoor living space, give Big Bend Landscaping a call. We’re in the business of giving people the outdoor living area of their dreams and we’d love to help!
Big Bend Landscaping has been building patios, firepits, pathways, retaining walls, and seating walls in the St. Louis area for over 25 years. We have 56 five-star reviews on Google and an A+ rating with the BBB. Our crews have a Level 1 Certification from the National Concrete and Masonry Association. This means we’re experts in our field. Check out our testimonials to see what our customers are saying about us.
Our experts can come to you and help you design an outdoor living space you will never want to leave. We will give you a CAD drawing of the space we discussed, and the projected costs. Once we start the job, you will find us to be efficient and clean. And we will never make a change to a job without discussing it with you first.
Big Bend Landscaping knows how to help you make the most of your outdoor living space. When you’re ready to make a change, check out our website for more details and contact us more information!