Photo courtesy of Belgard
Outdoor living spaces are becoming an extension of the indoors with more and more complicated elements like kitchens, fire pits and fireplaces gaining popularity. With the increased interest in creating a place to relax, entertain and play, contractors are seeing more complicated requests.
At Greenscapes in the Reno, Nevada, area, Josh Anderson says he’s seen an uptick in fire pits and fireplaces, in particular. “It’s really been the last two or three years, but we’re getting tons of requests for fire features,” he says. “Five years ago, we did a couple, but we’ve actually had to focus on it much more lately.”
Suppliers have been seeing a big demand has been for fire features as well. “These features are common on at least 70 percent of the projects we see coming through in Belgard Design Studio. I think there are several reasons for this. Fire pits are a cost-effective way to extend the season and add interest in most outdoor living designs,” says Joe Raboine, Belgard national design and training specialist, adding that fire features can really make a space come alive.
The process can be complicated, Anderson says. Safety is his first concern, but after that, he says the biggest challenge is to make sure clients aren’t biting off more than they can chew. “It’s not cheap and it’s not easy,” he says, adding that last year, his company got called out to a residence where the homeowners had tried to install a fire pit themselves.
