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My idea is to create an outdoor space which has a roof and a firepit but no walls. I was planning on offering a bbq experience for guests that are staying in the house - I was a chef for a number years and love cooking on an open fire. I am a little concerned about insurance issues and was thinking that I would probably lock the firepit somehow when I am not there or the guests are not availing of the bbq service. I am really excited by the prospect of offering this. I would like to provide firewood for the firepit for guests to use at their leisure (though I would charge them extra obviously) though perhaps I am being a bit naive in thinking that 100% of guests will use the fire pit responsibly. The outdoor space with the firepit will be about 30 metres away from the main house. The property is about an hours drive from a major city and is located in a very remote place.
The fire pit at my place is a much appreciated amenity. I sell firewood, or they can bring your own. You don’t give us info on location? USA? Do other local rentals have firepits? It is always possible for problems, but we can’t stop living because there is risk.
The fire pit I have is enclosed so it’s harder for people to be stupid.
Check your local codes, where we were in California this was prohibited
From an article on fire safety:
Never operate your fire pit beneath a building overhang or in a partially enclosed space. Use special caution related to overhanging trees, which can easily ignite from flying wood-fire sparks. In fire-prone areas, surround your fire pit with non-combustible materials, like crushed stone, brick, or sand.
Maybe it’s different in wetter, colder climates as well but I nearly caught a tree on fire having my fire pit to close to it and a friend caught his house on fire grilling under his patio cover. Or one of those little gas fired ones that is more for looks than heat.
There are quite a few options, some have chimneys, some have fire pit just outside of structure, some have no chimney. It would be a good idea to check local building codes.
@Louise’s arrangement would be illegal in my city. Any open flame must be contained completely. Burning must be done on a non-flammable surface such as stone or cement. Overhead tree branches would have to be cleared back. And if the fire department happened to notice that my non-flammable surface was covered in drying leaves, I would be required to clear off those leaves immediately.
Mine is actually far safer than most used in the area. They tend to be a circle of rocks on the ground. The fire is on a non-flammable surface, and its elevated from the ground, and the fire is screened as tight as fire screens are in homes. Last year we couldn’t have fires til the fall due to drought. You can’t see in my picture, but there are. No branches overhead. The leaves are in no danger of burning as no heated surface is in contact with them. Considering I live in a forest, the only time there are no leaves is when ice and snow cover the ground.
@Louise, one of the many differences between rural and urban. Here the protections are all about not having the whole block of old, wooden houses go up in flames. Sadly, when one house catches around here, we loose about 6.
As we lost our family home to fire, in Summer, so no fire in either fireplace, no fires outside. Probable damage to wiring by wildlife. I’m well aware of fire safety. I have an indoor wood stove.
I see both of these structures have a chimney above the firepit which is what said in my reply. I’m sure there a plenty of people who don’t check codes, follow them or even have a clue. Like people who bring their propane grill inside when the power goes out and die.
In my market renters expect it if they are in the woods. Catskills, Adirondacks, outdoorsy New York State. I have an outdoor fireplace on the deck of my guest house. If that burns down it would be less of a distaster than my house, but so far guests have been super responsible. I also bug them about taking care of the fire properly. But LOTS of Catskills rentals have a classic fire pit in the back yard. And by classic I don’t mean a metal bowl thing from Lowes. I mean a ring of sand and gravel surrounded by big rocks. Old skool and rustic.
I work as a dispatcher for the fire department, so I’m chiming in on this one with the fire department perspective.
As others have mentioned, before you do this, you must check out the rules for outside fires in your area. They vary wildly by county, city, region, etc. There will probably be rules on how big the fire pit can be, how high it can be, how far it has to be from other structures and property lines, whether it needs a cover, what it can be made of, and what you can burn.
Bear in mind that these rules are not just for the construction phase of your fire pit. They must be adhered to whenever the fire pit is used as well. So, if you decide to allow guests to use it, but they don’t follow the local laws, you as a property owner can be fined by your municipality or county. The fines may go up with each additional violation.
You will also need to keep an eye on conditions in your area (such as prolonged periods of hot, dry weather) that may lead to a temporary ban on fire pit use. Guests may be annoyed that an amenity offered in your listing is not available during their visit, so I would suggest adding something like “subject to local laws and weather conditions” to your listing when describing the amenity. You may want to also add your own rules, such as “fire pit may not be used when winds are in excess of XXmph.”
Also, depending on whether you are in an urban area or not, there are many people who really dislike it when their neighbours have a fire pit. Even if it meets the required standard, fire pits create smoke that can really bother those in close proximity. Keep your neighbours in mind when deciding how to proceed.
