When I initially bought my property the first thing that was “built” after brush hogging clearings was a fire pit. A fire pit can provide warmth, a way to cook food, or just a place to congregate. Although the first time that it started raining while standing next to the fire, it was clear an improvement needed to be made. So I asked myself can you build a gazebo over a fire pit? and here’s what I found.
Building a gazebo over a fire pit is completely safe, given you follow a few simple guidelines.
- Be sure that there is proper ventilation for smoke and carbon monoxide.
- Place the fire pit directly in the center of the gazebo.
- Ensure the proper distance from the top of the fire to the ceiling.
- Consider incorporating extra protection to any wooden surfaces.
If you are considering building a gazebo of a fire pit, this article will help you get started on the right path.
Ventilation
Carbon monoxide is nasty stuff, it’s colorless, odorless and can cause serious effects to your health. If you decide to build an open gazebo you shouldn’t have to much to worry about when it comes to carbon monoxide though.
Luckily carbon monoxide is heavier than air so with open sides it should fall to the ground and blow away.
Your next issue would be smoke. For this you’ll want some kind of ventilation at the top of your gazebo, a copula is a great solution to this.
Incorporating a copula into you gazebo has multiple benefits. It will provide ventilation for smoke as mentioned above and create a place for heat to escape, all while giving you gazebo an aesthetically pleasing look.
Fire Pit Placement
The best place to have you fire pit is directly in the center of your gazebo. The outside edges of your gazebo will be the lowest parts of your structure.
Therefor placing your fire pit in the center will provide the most distance possible from all sides and ceiling of the structure.
Make Your Gazebo Tall Enough
As mentioned above the distance from the fire to your structure is crucial to not catching your gazebo on fire.
If your gazebo is too short it won’t make where you place you fire, a good rule of thumb is to make the headers, or the lowest part of your gazebo 7 to 8 foot tall.
Depending on the pitch of the roof this should put the ceiling a good 10 to 12 feet of the ground in the center.
Protect Combustible Surfaces
You’ve placed the fire pit in the center of your gazebo and made it tall enough as to not be to close to the fire, and extra step that you could take would be to install a protective layer over the combustibles directly above the fire.
You can install sheet metal or cement board to the underside of the ceiling to help protect the rafters.
More Things To Keep In Mind After Your Gazebo Is Built
Keep your fire under control
You will want to be conscious of the kind of fires you have in your fire pit once your gazebo is complete. Obviously you don’t want to use your fire pit to burn large piles of brush or have a “bonfire” in your pit.
Extra large and extremely hot fires will increase the likelihood of your hard work turning into a pile of ashes.
Install swings!
The headers that span from post to post are the perfect attachment points for a 2 person swing. You can build your own or find them at your local home improvement store.
Keep an eye out for damage
It is good practice to check your structure periodically for signs of damage, and wear and tear. Being that the ceiling will be exposed to higher levels of heat and dryness than normal you will want to keep an eye out for charring.