Gas or wood
Gas for simplicity and safety on a deck. Wood for the look, the heat and the smell — at the cost of clearances, footings and usually a permit.
Fire features
It is also the element with the most rules attached to it. Gas and masonry are very different builds, and the choice has to be made before the deck is framed.
A gas fire table sits happily on a composite deck, needs no chimney and no clearance headaches, and can be running five minutes after you decide to sit outside. For most decks it is the right answer.
A wood-burning fireplace is a different proposition. It needs clearances from combustible material, its own footing, usually a permit, and it changes the structure underneath before anything is built. Decide it early or you will be rebuilding to accommodate it.
Masonry also gives you the thing gas cannot: a chimney and a hearth that anchors the whole outdoor room. If that is the look you want, it is worth designing the space around it.
Gas for simplicity and safety on a deck. Wood for the look, the heat and the smell — at the cost of clearances, footings and usually a permit.
A fire feature parked in the middle of a deck wastes the deck. Built into an edge or a corner it defines the space instead of interrupting it.
Requirements differ between Flowood, Jackson, Madison, Brandon and Ridgeland. We handle the filing.
Masonry needs its own footing. That is a framing decision, which is why it cannot be a late addition.
Still weighing materials? The What We Build page sets out what composite and PVC actually are, how the Trex and TimberTech lines compare, and the six things that genuinely move what a project costs.
Bring your questions to the showroom, or we'll come measure your yard first. Either way it's free, and you'll leave knowing what things actually cost.