A fire feature is one of the highest-impact additions you can make to an outdoor living space — it draws people together and extends your patio season well past the first cool front. The two most common options, a built-in fire pit and a gas fire table, look similar from a distance but behave very differently day to day.
Wood-Burning Fire Pits: The Classic Choice
A built-in wood-burning fire pit gives you the crackle, the smell, and the taller flame that a lot of homeowners associate with a real backyard fire. It costs less to build initially and doesn't require a gas line. The tradeoffs: you need to source and store firewood, manage smoke direction based on wind, and clean out ash regularly. It's also less predictable to light and extinguish than a gas feature.
Gas Fire Tables: Convenience and Control
A gas fire table lights instantly with the turn of a knob or push of a button, burns clean with no smoke or ash, and doubles as a functional table surface when off. The flame is smaller and more consistent than a wood fire, which some homeowners prefer and others find less dramatic. Gas features require a rough-in line during construction, which adds cost but eliminates the ongoing hassle of firewood.
Maintenance Over Time
Wood-burning fire pits need periodic ash removal and occasional masonry or stone cleaning where soot accumulates. Gas fire tables need far less upkeep — mainly keeping the burner and glass media clean and checking the gas line connection annually. If low-maintenance matters more to you than the classic wood-fire experience, gas is the clear winner.
Design and Placement
Fire pits are often built into a larger hardscape design — surrounded by a seat wall, integrated into a paver patio, or paired with built-in bench seating. Fire tables are more flexible since they don't require the same masonry footprint and can be relocated more easily if your outdoor layout changes down the road. Either way, keep clearance from structures, overhangs, and combustible materials in mind — we account for this during design.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most jurisdictions, a gas fire feature requires a permit because of the gas line work. A simple wood-burning fire pit may not, depending on size and your specific city or county — we confirm this during your design consultation.
Yes. We regularly add fire pits and fire tables to existing paver or concrete patios, including running new gas lines where needed for a gas feature.
Gas fire tables are generally considered safer since there's no open woodpile, embers, or unpredictable flame height, and they extinguish instantly. Either option should include a clear safety perimeter as part of the design.
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