The addition of a fire pit to your outdoor wood decking space can be a wonderful thing. So, in this article, we will highlight some of the safety precautions you should consider before using a fire pit on your deck and outline our favourite fire pits that are safe for wood decking.
Let’s dive straight in…
What Type of Decking Do You Have?
There are two primary types of decking you will find these days, wood decking and composite decking.
Wood decking – as you would imagine, wood decking is made from solid wood, usually a nice hardwood, though you can make it from pretty much any kind of wood you like.
Composite Decking – on the other hand, is a blend of wood fibres, wood flour, and plastics such as polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene. The benefit of composite decking is that it is more long-lasting and durable than wood, as well as having resistance to discolouration and rotting.
Why Is Decking a Concern For a Fire Pit
A wood burning fire pit can reach extremely high temperatures, let's face it, that's their function. We want those hot embers warming us on those chillier evenings.
In addition, wood fire pits are usually built with small holes in the bottom of the bowl. These holes will allow water to escape.
These small holes, will occasionally allow small burning embers to fall through. Hot embers on wood or composite decking may not set it alight but they may still cause scarring and burn marks, not ideal! A super hot fire pit frame could also cause these scorch marks.
What Kind of Fire Pit Can You Use on Decking?
There are a huge range of options when it comes to fire pits, both in terms of the design and the fuel they burn.
In general, you want a fire pit that has the fire itself raised from the ground. This keeps the hottest parts of the fire away from your decking.
There Are Three Primary Types of Fire Pits:
• Wood burning
• Gas (liquid propane or natural gas)
• Bioethanol
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but when it comes to fire pit decking, but we think you’ll find that gas and bioethanol are better suited.
What Safety Precautions to Take for Your Fire Pit Decking
There are a few additional measures we recommend taking when using a fire pit on wood decking.
- Use a fire screen – particularly if you are wanting to use a wood-burning fire pit on your decking. A fire screen stops the sparks and embers from flying out of the fire that could damage your decking.
- Use a protective matt – fire gets hot and this can be dangerous for your decking and damage it. Using a metal base under your fire pit helps protect the decking from the heat.
- Combine with stone - consider building a small section into the decking that is fire resistant such as paving stones, gravel or bricks.
- Choose the right location – you want to make sure your fire pit is not too close to buildings or next to anything flammable.
- Extra safety layer – for wood-burning fire pits adding a layer of sand to the bottom of your fire pit to build the fire on is a really great trick for keeping the heat away from your decking.
- Don’t use in high winds – if the weather is blustery then it is best to not use your fire pit, especially if it’s a wood-burning fire pit, as the wind could blow out some hot embers that can damage your decking.
- Treat the wood - to add an additional layer of safety, use some fire retardant varnish.
Our top fire pits that are safe for wood decking
Without any further ado let’s take a look at some of our favourite fire pits that are safe to use on wood decking…
Adezz Forno Brann Corten Gas Fire Pit
The Adezz Forno Brann is a beautiful corten steel fire pit. The reddy orange colour of the naturally rusted corten steel is a very popular aesthetic, and the gas-burning fire will keep you warm long into the evening.
The corten steel not only looks good, but it’s also incredibly durable and weatherproof, needing next to no maintenance all year round.
The gas bottle is stored safely inside too which means the Brann is quick and easy to install.
EcoSmart Fire Wharf 65 Bioethanol Fire Table
Bioethanol is the ideal choice of fire pit for your decking and the EcoSmart Fire Wharf is a stunning standalone fire pit table that is ideal for sitting around and enjoying the warmth with friends and family.
It’s made from weather-resistant materials and is incredibly durable. It’s a fire pit that goes strong in all four seasons.
Elementi Metropolis Fire Pit Table
The Elementi Metropolis is another fire pit table that is perfect for creating a warm and cosy seating area on your decking.
It runs on either propane or natural gas, so you have the option of keeping it portable, or having it fully installed with natural gas to take advantage of your mains gas supply.
Elementi Fire Manhattan Gas Fire Pit
The Elementi Fire Manhattan comes with a built-in wind shield for added security and is the perfect addition to any outdoor space and ideal for your decking.
You also have the choice of using propane or natural gas as its fuel source (which is one of the great benefits of the Elementi Fire range!)
It is no surprise that our top suggestions are either bioethanol or gas fire pits. These are a simply a perfect match for decking. If a wood fire pit is your thing, check out the video, this decking was built by one of our customers and features the GrillSymbol Luna.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is, there are plenty of fire pits that are safe for wood decking, and hopefully, our list here has given you a bit of inspiration.
We are incredibly proud of our range of fire pits and are confident we have the ideal fire pit waiting for you. Please feel free to get in touch, our team is here to help.
Post Code Checker
Using a wood burner outside is legal; being a nuisance with an outdoor fire can cause problems with the neighbours and the local council. Here is our local council checker for their guidelines.
This is currently for postcodes in England and Wales. It will soon expand to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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