Fire Pit Guide: Types, How to Build One, and Everything Else You Need to Know
A fire pit is one of those backyard additions that earns its place every single time you use it. The fire goes on and the conversation slows down. People stop looking at their phones. The evening becomes something worth having. This guide covers everything in one place. Which type of fire pit actually fits your life. How to build one yourself with bricks, blocks, or stone. How to light it, maintain it, and handle everything after the fire goes out. Read the whole thing or jump to what you need.
What Type of Fire Pit Should You Use?
Natural Gas Fire Pit
Connect it to your home gas line. Turn a dial. Fire starts instantly. No wood hauling, no propane refills, no ash cleanup the next morning. Natural gas burns roughly 99 percent cleaner than wood per U.S. Energy Information Administration data. The flame is consistent and the running cost is the lowest of any fuel option. Homes in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach that already have natural gas service can tap into that line directly. The installation requires a licensed contractor and a gas permit in every city. In Huntington Beach, a gas line fire pit permit requires underground gas inspection and a pressure test before approval. Once it is in, you barely think about it again. Best for: Homeowners who entertain regularly and want a permanent low-maintenance feature.Propane Fire Pit or Fire Table
A 20-pound propane tank connects under the pit and runs eight to twelve hours on a full tank. No gas line needed. No permit in most cases. The real advantage is flexibility. A propane fire table sits anywhere on your patio. If you rearrange your outdoor space or move homes, it comes with you. Propane costs more per hour of use than natural gas over time, and you need to track when the tank runs low.Wood-Burning Fire Pit
Nothing sounds or smells like a real wood fire. A well-built wood fire can produce over 100,000 BTU of heat. You can cook over it the traditional way. That is the case for it. Wood fires produce smoke. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency notes that wood smoke contains fine particles that irritate airways, particularly for people with asthma. Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District prohibits wood burning on designated No-Burn Days from November through late February. Check scaqmd.gov before you light up during those months. Best for: Larger yards with space from neighbors, no local burn restrictions, and people who genuinely love the campfire experience.Smokeless Fire Pit
Smokeless fire pits use a double-wall design. Air enters through vents at the base, heats inside the chamber walls, and re-enters the fire near the top rim as preheated oxygen. That hot second injection burns the smoke gases before they escape. The result is a hotter, cleaner burn with dramatically less visible smoke. Brands like Solo Stove and Breeo popularized this design. They run on wood and still require ash cleanup, but produce far less smoke than an open pit. No smokeless fire pit is 100 percent smoke-free. Wet or green wood will smoke in any pit. Use dry seasoned hardwood like oak or maple for the cleanest burn. Best for: People who want a real wood fire with far less smoke, especially on smaller patios or near neighbors.How to Build a Fire Pit in Your Backyard
Step 1: Choose Your Location
The International Fire Code recommends at least 10 feet of clearance from any structure, fence, overhead branches, or combustible material. Many cities require more. Set your pit on level ground. Sloped surfaces make for uneven fires and create drainage headaches. On a deck? Standard wood-burning fire pits are not suitable for decks. Gas fire features classified as appliances can sometimes be placed on decks within 25 feet of a structure, depending on local code. Confirm with your city before planning a deck installation.Step 2: Mark Your Circle
Drive a stake into the center of your chosen spot. Tie a string to the stake at half the desired diameter. Walk the string around and mark the circle with landscape paint or flour. A 36-inch inner diameter suits most residential yards. A 48-inch pit works better for groups of eight or more.Step 3: Dig the Base
Excavate 7 to 12 inches deep inside your marked circle. Remove all roots and organic material. The deeper you dig, the more the fire sits below grade, which reduces wind impact on the flame. Compact the soil firmly with a hand tamper.Step 4: Add a Gravel Base
Pour 4 to 6 inches of crushed gravel into the pit. Compact it level. Gravel allows drainage beneath the fire and keeps the base from holding water after rain. This step prevents premature cracking of your brick or block walls. Use crushed stone or decomposed granite as your base material. These drain well and hold up under sustained heat. Pea gravel and river rock trap moisture and require replacement after heavy use.Step 5: Lay Your First Ring
Place your first ring of retaining wall blocks, fire bricks, or natural stone around the edge of your excavated circle. Check each block for level as you go. The first ring sets everything above it. If it is off, every ring above it is off. Use fire bricks for the inner wall that faces the flame directly. Standard concrete retaining wall blocks work fine for the outer structure. Fire bricks are rated to withstand sustained direct heat. Standard concrete blocks are not and will deteriorate faster when used as the inner lining.Step 6: Stack Your Rings
Stack two to three additional rings, staggering the joints so no two seams line up vertically. Staggered joints create a structurally stronger wall. Apply construction adhesive rated for high-temperature outdoor use between rings if you want a more permanent structure. A finished wall height of 12 to 18 inches above grade is comfortable for most users. Higher walls contain heat better but restrict airflow. Lower walls look more open but throw sparks further.Step 7: Finish the Base
Fill the bottom of the pit with an inch of sand, lava rock, or fire glass. This creates a level surface for the fire, improves airflow, and protects the base from direct contact with burning wood. Sand is the simplest and least expensive option.What Materials Can You Use to Build a Fire Pit?
Brick is the classic choice. Durable, widely available, heat-tolerant, and easy to work with. A brick fire pit blends into most yard styles from traditional to modern.
Concrete retaining wall blocks are the most budget-accessible option. They stack without mortar, cost $2 to $4 each at most home improvement stores, and a standard DIY pit takes 24 to 36 blocks. Lowe’s and Home Depot both carry multiple block styles.
Natural stone creates a more rugged, organic look. Limestone, sandstone, and fieldstone all work. Stone costs more and takes longer to stack level than manufactured block, but the finished result is hard to replicate with any other material.
Cinder blocks work structurally but get hot on the surface faster than dense block or brick. They are a reasonable budget choice for a simple round pit but may not hold up as well over many years of heavy use.
Use fire brick or natural stone for the interior lining that faces the flame directly. These materials are rated for sustained direct heat and hold up beautifully over years of use.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Fire Pit?
A simple DIY brick or block pit costs $300 to $700 in materials. Building one cheap is achievable if you source retaining wall blocks from a local home center and do the digging yourself. That includes gravel, blocks, construction adhesive, and a steel fire ring insert.
A stone fire pit with premium natural materials runs $600 to $1,500 for a DIY build. A professional installation adds $500 to $2,000 in labor depending on complexity and your market.
A natural gas fire pit with a contractor-installed gas line and a finished surround runs $1,500 to $5,000 total. Gas line distance from the house is the biggest variable in that range. A freestanding propane fire table from a quality brand costs $400 to $1,500 with no installation cost beyond setting it in place.
How to Start a Fire in a Fire Pit
The most reliable method is top-down lighting. Most people do the opposite and wonder why the fire smokes heavily and takes forever to establish.
Stack two or three larger logs on the bottom of the pit. Place medium-sized splits crosswise over those. Add a layer of small kindling over the splits. Place a natural fire starter or tightly rolled newspaper on top of the kindling. Light from the top.
The fire burns downward from the kindling into the splits and then into the larger logs. This produces a cleaner, hotter fire with less smoke in the first ten minutes than a bottom-up approach. The University of Waterloo’s combustion research supports top-down burning as the most efficient method for wood fires.
How Far Should a Fire Pit Be from the House?
The International Fire Code answers the question of how far a fire pit should be from the house with a minimum of 10 feet from any structure, fence, deck, overhanging branch, or combustible material. Many local fire codes are stricter. Cities like Huntington Beach and Newport Beach follow California Fire Code standards. Check with your local fire department for the exact setback requirement at your address before finalizing placement.
For wood-burning pits, more distance is better. Sparks travel. On a breezy evening, a spark from a wood fire can travel 10 to 15 feet before landing. A 15-foot clearance gives you a meaningful safety buffer.
Can You Put a Fire Pit on a Deck?
Wood-burning fire pits work best on non-combustible surfaces like concrete, stone, or pavers. Gas fire features classified as appliances can often be placed on decks within 25 feet of a structure, depending on local code. Confirm with your city before a deck installation.
Propane fire tables and natural gas fire features classified as appliances under the building code can often be placed on decks within 25 feet of a structure, depending on local code. Confirm with your city before installation.
How Does a Smokeless Fire Pit Work?
Smokeless fire pits work through a double-wall design. A smokeless fire pit has two walls with a gap between them. Air enters through vents at the base of the outer wall. As the fire heats up, that air warms inside the wall cavity. It exits through a ring of holes at the top rim and injects into the flame as preheated oxygen.
That secondary injection burns the smoke gases that a standard fire would release. The result is a secondary flame visible as a halo around the top of the pit. The more complete combustion produces more heat with less smoke and less ash.
The system only works well with dry, seasoned hardwood and adequate airflow. A pit starved of oxygen or burning wet wood will smoke regardless of its design. Keep ash cleared from the base vents after each use or the intake will restrict and performance will drop.
How to Make a Smokeless Fire Pit at Home
A true DIY smokeless fire pit mimics the double-wall design of commercial units. Build two concentric rings of metal or brick with a 1 to 2 inch air gap between them. Drill or space the outer ring to allow air intake at the base. Leave gaps at the top of the inner wall where heated air re-enters the flame zone.
The simplest version uses two concentric steel rings with a few dozen quarter-inch holes drilled around the base of the outer ring. This is more a working principle than an exact plan. Commercial units from Solo Stove, Breeo, and Tiki brand are engineered for this airflow balance. A DIY build will reduce smoke but may not fully replicate the performance of a purpose-built unit.
For a budget smokeless solution, using dry hardwood and the top-down lighting method in any standard pit reduces visible smoke by 60 to 70 percent compared to wet wood with bottom-up lighting. Wood quality matters more than most people realize.
How to Put Out a Fire Pit
Stop adding wood at least 30 minutes before you plan to extinguish the fire. Let the existing wood burn down as much as possible.
Spread the embers flat with a fire poker. Pour water slowly over the embers starting from the outer edge and working inward. The fire will hiss and steam. Keep pouring until no steam rises and no hissing sounds. Stir the ash with the poker and pour again.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends checking with the back of your hand two inches above the ash bed. If you feel warmth, add more water and wait. Ash holds heat for hours. A fully cold ash bed is your signal that cleanup is safe.
For propane and gas pits: turn the gas valve to the off position. The flame extinguishes within seconds. No water required.
What to Do with Fire Pit Ashes
Wait at least 48 hours before handling ash. Embers can hold heat far longer than they appear to. The NFPA documents house fires started from ash that appeared cold but was not. When in doubt, add water and wait longer.
Once fully cooled, wood ash has genuine uses. A light dusting on garden beds adds potassium and raises soil pH, which benefits many vegetables and flowering plants. The University of California Cooperative Extension recommends applying no more than 20 pounds of wood ash per 1,000 square feet of garden annually.
Ash also repels certain garden pests. A ring of ash around slug-sensitive plants creates a barrier that slugs cross reluctantly.
For disposal: place fully cooled ash in a sealed metal container and put it in your regular trash. A metal container is the right choice. Confirmed cold ash works well in compost as a potassium source.
Is a Fire Pit Considered Open Burning?
It depends on your jurisdiction and the type of pit. Most cities classify recreational wood-burning fire pits as open burning and subject them to local fire ordinances and air quality rules.
In Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District designates No-Burn Days when wood burning is prohibited region-wide due to air quality conditions. You can check current No-Burn status at scaqmd.gov. Gas and propane fire pits are typically exempt from No-Burn restrictions because they produce negligible particulate emissions.
How to Keep a Fire Pit Going
Two things kill a fire: lack of fuel and lack of oxygen. Address both and the fire sustains itself.
Add wood before the existing pieces burn all the way through. Adding a fresh log to a bed of strong coals catches far faster than adding it to dying embers. Use splits no thicker than four inches for the best combustion.
Stack wood in a loose crisscross pattern rather than a tight parallel stack. Air needs to move through the fuel. A tight stack starves the fire and produces smoke instead of flame.
Keep a fire poker nearby. Occasionally nudge collapsed pieces back into a loose stack. Clear ash from the base if buildup is restricting airflow. A small ash bed of one inch is fine. More than that and the fire will flatten and smoke.
How Hot Does a Fire Pit Get?
A wood-burning fire pit reaches 800 to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit at the flame core. The surface temperature of surrounding stone or brick reaches 200 to 400 degrees depending on materials and construction. Keep that in mind if you have children around the pit.
Gas fire pits typically burn between 30,000 and 60,000 BTU depending on burner size. A standard 30,000 BTU burner produces meaningful ambient heat within a 6-foot radius on a calm evening.
Smokeless fire pits burn hotter than standard wood pits due to the more complete combustion. Solo Stove reports flame temperatures 400 degrees higher than conventional wood fire pits in their design.
How Long Does a Propane Tank Last on a Fire Pit?
A standard 20-pound propane tank holds roughly 430,000 BTU of fuel. A 40,000 BTU fire pit runs about 10 to 11 hours on a full tank. A 60,000 BTU burner runs about 7 hours.
Running the flame at medium rather than full height extends tank life significantly. Most users get four to six evening sessions from a single 20-pound tank at moderate flame settings.
One Last Thing Before You Build
A fire pit is one of the simplest upgrades a backyard can get. The materials are accessible, the build is manageable in a weekend, and the return in evening use is immediate.
Pick the fuel type that fits your life. Choose materials you can source locally. Build to code. And use dry wood.
Everything else takes care of itself once the fire is going.