Six Outdoor Fireplace Designs

Being able to make use of a patio or outdoor entertainment area all year round is just one of the many ways to increase the value of your home and add to your living space.

Autumn and winter may be colder, but you can still enjoy time outdoors if you install an outdoor fireplace. This is a surefire way to add ambience to a large patio and create a space where friends can gather and relax whatever the season.

In South Africa, due to the lack of availability of kits, building an outdoor fireplace is a do-it-yourself or hire a contractor project. When building your own, use the right materials and take into consideration all the available options for the design, size and type of space you have.

Choosing the right materials

There are a wide range of options to choose from to build an outdoor fireplace, facebrick to stone, tiles, plaster and concrete.

The material you choose will depend on the style and design of fireplace you’re planning to build.

1. Designing using facebrick 

Probably the most affordable and easiest way to build an outdoor fireplace, facebrick can be selected in various colours and textures.

Basic building skills and savvy on laying bricks, as well as a few hand tools are all you need to take this on as a DIY project.

2. Using brick veneer

Another built option is to consider using clay stock bricks for the construction and then adding a brick veneer to finish off the outside of your fireplace. Brick veneer is easy to work with and is applied much in the same way that tile would be applied. 

3. Applying stone or stone cladding 

Building an entire outdoor fireplace using stone would be prohibitively expensive unless you had access to locally cut stone. 

The option to add stone cladding allows you to build a fireplace that looks and feels like stone and blends in with any existing stone features in your home. 

4. Modern concrete design 

A modern or contemporary design can be achieved by creating or building forms to cast a concrete fireplace. 

While building the forms is time consuming, the actual construction time is about half that of a conventionally built outdoor fireplace. 

One of the most popular design trends for an outdoor fireplace is to build a long and low shaped fireplace that blends in well with a linear landscape design. Such designs are also less prone to cracking, as is the case with larger designs. 

5. Plaster finish 

If you want to design an outdoor fireplace that complements the style of your home, you may want to look at clay stock brick fireplaces and plastering the finish. 

Not only can a plastered finish be given texture and colour, but you can also use it to design a unique look for your outdoor fireplace. 

6. Interior cladding for outdoor fireplace

An outdoor fireplace needs to be able to withstand high heat and resist exposure to the elements, especially in a design that has a small firebox as opposed to a larger open hearth.

While standard bricks or stone can be used to build a structure, the inner chamber for the fireplace needs to be lined with refractory bricks. These bricks are manufactured by mixing components that have a high melting point to withstand temperature build up.

Conventional building bricks are not able to withstand the generated heat.

Refractory bricks are cemented onto the inner walls of the fireplace chamber to protect any surrounding brick or stonework. Use a mixture of three parts cement to one part sand to adhere refractory bricks to the chamber wall. 

What equipment and tools will you need?

Whatever final design you choose for your outdoor fireplace, you’re going to need basic tools and equipment. 

Most of the hand and power tools, as well as a large part of the supplies, will be available at your local Builders Warehouse. 

While you're there, grab a wheelbarrow, plastic sheeting to protect the surrounding area, gloves, goggles and a pair of overalls.

And don't forget essentials such as a tape measure, spirit level, chalk line, plumb bob and a couple of pieces of square steel tubing or angles for straight edges and levels.

Do yourself a favour and hire a cement mixer for the day as and when you need it. Mixing mortar and cement is not only time consuming, it can be back-breaking work as well.

Article courtesy of www.home-dzine.co.za