Outdoor Fireplaces: Advantages and Legal Aspects

Fireplaces are a compulsory aspect of most American homes in winter. Every winter refreshes your memories of you and your family sitting around the fireplace in the living room of your home indulged in careless chatter. A more thrilling memory arises out of family time spent around bonfires. Bonfires are usually created during picnics and outings that may be planned from time to time. You can recreate the same experience by installing an outdoor fireplace in your backyard.

Advantages of Outdoor Fireplaces

Outdoor fire pits have become a favorite mode of home outdoor decoration. They serve as a warm place for the family to hang out in the outdoor premises of their home. In addition, these also enhance the aesthetic beauty of your home. Usually, the real estate value of houses with outdoor fireplaces is more than those without them. So, if you happen to own a house with a backyard or a well-laid garden in the front yard, you must build an outdoor fireplace.

Legal Aspects of Constructing Outdoor Fireplaces

Every type of construction needs appropriate legalization. Therefore, you need to take care of the legal requirements of installing an outdoor fireplace in the premises of your home. You need to familiarize yourself with the state rules that go with fireplace installation in the backyard of a private property. Depending on the state you reside in you may be required to acquire a permit to install an outdoor fireplace in your house.

Local laws often restrict fire pit construction and usage inside a private property. In such cases you should be careful in getting the required permit before undertaking any construction of a fireplace. For this you will need to check with the local fire department and code enforcement officials. Only if you are granted legal permission should you start on the fire pit construction.

Secondly, how you are required to build the fire pit in your backyard, will be specified in the fire codes of the area you reside in. You can have a clear idea of all the specifications after deliberation with officials working for the local fire department. Generally, the free-standing and below-ground level firepits need to have a minimum of 25 feet free circumference around them. In case of portable firepits, a minimum distance of 15 foot should be maintained from the house or any object that is prone to catching fire.

Use of portable fireplace systems, therefore, is the best way to easily meet the legal requirements of establishing outdoor fireplaces. In this manner you will be able to increase the aesthetic beauty of the your home in a cost effective manner.


When it comes to selecting some of the newest designs of outdoor fireplaces, Discount Hearth offers some of the best designs in America and also provide a wide range of accessories to beautify the fireplace.

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