Outdoor Brick Fireplace: Beautify Your Outdoor Environment
Many people are looking for ways to beautify their outdoors. One way to decorate and give your yard a cozy homey feel is with an outdoor brick fireplace. Brick is often used for fireplaces because of its ability to retain heat. Traditional fireboxes are often built into a brick wall or area. Just like the name says they are fireplaces built outside surrounded by brick. People are adding them in around pools and hot tubs, or even on their patios. In order to meet unique customer demands many manufacturers are offering specialized outdoor brick fireplaces.
You can build the fireplace yourself with a kit or how-to plans, or hire a professional. When choosing brick you can augment with stone, stainless steel or cast iron. Bricks are very sturdy, useful and have charm. They are also treated to resist oil and grease from cooking and or soot from when you burn natural woods. You can purchase decorative brick or use your own ideas for a unique design.
Nearly all outdoor fireplaces will need a chimney and a chimney cap to prevent loose sparks from getting out. Your chimney cap will prevent access to birds who otherwise might nest inside and from rain and snow.
There are three types of outdoor brick fireplace. Those types are open fire pits, fireplaces with chimneys and raised open fireplaces. No matter which type you choose the amount of use and type of fuel you use is what will decide how much maintenance is necessary to keep it working and clean.
The simplest style of outdoor brick fireplace is the fire pit. If you want to emulate the campfire this is the fireplace for you. It is basically a brick encirclement to build a fire. The amount of bricks you will need depends on the size you plan on your fire pit being. There are two types of brick you will need. For the inner side of the wall (facing the fire) you need fire bricks. You can use regular bricks for the outer wall. If you're wanting to use your brick fire pit for barbequing then make it a size so that you can use a grill grate.
The raised open fireplace is most often used for barbequing. With this style the fire is contained on a metal framework that is under a metal grill that supports cooking meat. In the raised open model ashes collect at the bottom and so they can easily be shoveled out.
The one that looks most like an indoor fireplace and has the traditional look to it is the fireplace with a chimney. They often have doors on the front and usually come with an ash box with separate access. The outdoor brick fireplace with a chimney look great in an in ground pool area.
You can do simple marshmallow roasting in any of the fireplaces, but the fire pit and open raised fireplaces are best for grilling. If you are looking for your outdoor brick fireplace to double as a grill those are your best options. If you like the classic traditional look of an indoor firebox then a fireplace with a chimney offers that. You may want to look through home and garden websites and magazines to decide on what will be best for your yard and then go from there.
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