Fire Features
A fire feature is masonry that gets very hot and sits close to things you'd rather not set on fire. It gets a footing, a liner, real clearances, and the local rules checked before we build.
Start with the rules, not the stone
Before anything gets designed, three questions get answered for your specific address:
- Is open burning allowed, and under what conditions? Colorado Front Range counties issue fire bans and Stage 1 / Stage 2 fire restrictions seasonally, and those restrictions routinely prohibit open wood fires while still permitting properly installed gas or propane appliances. That's a real and recurring difference in how much you'll actually use the thing.
- What does your jurisdiction require? Gas lines, gas appliances, and permanent masonry fireplaces frequently require permits and inspections; a portable propane bowl generally doesn't. Requirements vary by city and county — we verify with your building department before we quote, and we don't guess at a threshold.
- Is there an HOA or covenant? Plenty of Front Range HOAs have their own rules on open flame, chimney height, and appliance type.
Anyone who quotes a fire feature without asking these questions is not the crew you want.
Wood or gas — an honest comparison
Wood-burning
- The real thing: heat, sound, smell.
- Needs a lot more clearance and real thought about smoke and prevailing wind.
- Shuts down under fire restrictions, which on the Front Range can mean a meaningful chunk of the year.
- Requires a spark screen, a way to deal with ash, and somewhere to keep dry wood.
Gas (natural gas or propane)
- Instant on, instant off. Which — be honest — is why the ones that get used are gas.
- Typically still permitted under fire restrictions that ban open burning, though restrictions differ; check current conditions.
- Needs a plumbed line, a listed burner and pan, an ignition system, and a manual shutoff you can actually reach.
- Gas work is licensed work. Everything from the meter to the appliance gets done by a licensed plumber and inspected. We do not freelance gas.
Build it like the masonry it is
It gets a footing
A permanent fire feature is a heavy, rigid, monolithic mass. It doesn't belong sitting on a bedding course of sand. It gets its own compacted, well-drained foundation, or it's integrated into the slab or the base structure by design — because if the patio moves and the fire feature doesn't, one of them loses.
It gets a liner
The inside face of a wood-burning pit or fireplace sees temperatures that decorative block, standard segmental block, and most veneer stone are not made for. Repeated heating and cooling will spall and crack them. A wood-burning firebox gets an appropriate fire-rated liner — firebrick or a listed steel/refractory insert — with the decorative masonry on the outside. This is the single most-skipped step in DIY and cheap-bid fire pits, and the reason so many of them are crumbling on the inside within two seasons.
Do not trap moisture in the masonry
Water gets into any exterior masonry. When the burner runs, that water flashes to steam. Trapped steam pops stone off. Wood-burning pits need weep holes or a drain path in the base so water isn't standing in the bowl. Gas pans need vents sized to the enclosure per the appliance manufacturer's instructions — this is a listed-appliance requirement, not a preference, and it's about both moisture and gas accumulation.
Clearances are not vibes
Distance to the house, to fences, to trees, to overhead branches, and to combustible furniture all matter, and the required clearances come from your local fire code, your HOA, and the appliance's listing. We build to those numbers.
Colorado specifics
Wind. The Front Range gets serious downslope wind. Wind decides where the smoke goes, whether a fire pit is usable, and where the seating should sit. A pit sited without thinking about the prevailing wind is a pit that smokes people out of their own patio. Sometimes the answer is a low wall or a strategic planting on the windward side.
Altitude. Combustion behaves differently at 5,300+ feet. Gas appliances have altitude ratings and, for some units, high-altitude conversion requirements. Installing a sea-level-configured burner at Front Range elevation is a known way to get a lazy yellow flame and soot. The installer needs to be reading the manufacturer's altitude spec, not eyeballing it.
Dry season. Even outside a formal ban, this is a dry, windy, high-fuel environment much of the year. A spark screen on a wood pit isn't optional, and hardscape — not mulch, not dry grass — belongs in the zone around any open fire.
What we build
Built-in gas fire pits integrated into a paver or flagstone patio. Wood-burning pits with proper firebrick liners. Seat walls that wrap a fire feature and turn it into a room. Outdoor fireplaces with real fireboxes and chimneys.
All of it starts, like everything else we do, with what's underneath it. Get an estimate, or see how we build retaining and seat walls.
Questions we get asked
- Do I need a permit for a fire pit in Colorado?
- It depends on the type and on your jurisdiction. Portable propane units generally don't require one. Permanent masonry fireplaces, and anything involving a plumbed gas line, commonly require a permit and inspection. Requirements are set locally — we confirm with your building department before quoting rather than guessing.
- Can I use a fire pit during a Colorado fire ban?
- Front Range counties issue seasonal fire restrictions, and those restrictions commonly prohibit open wood fires while still allowing properly installed gas and propane appliances. Terms differ by county and by restriction stage, so check the current order for your county — but it's a real reason a lot of people here choose gas.
- Does a fire pit need a liner?
- A wood-burning one does. Decorative block, standard segmental block, and most veneer stone aren't rated for repeated direct heat and will spall and crack. The firebox gets a fire-rated liner — firebrick or a listed insert — with the decorative masonry outside of it.
- Why does my gas fire pit burn with a lazy yellow flame?
- Often altitude. Gas appliances are rated for an elevation range and some require high-altitude conversion. A burner configured for sea level and installed at Front Range elevation runs rich — yellow flame, soot, poor heat. The installer has to build to the manufacturer's altitude spec.
The rest of what we build
Where we build it
Soil, frost depth, and permit rules change from city to city on the Front Range. Here's what we know about the ground where you live.
Get a real number on fire features.
We'll shoot the grade, look at the soil, flag the drainage and permit issues, and give you an honest price. No upsell.