Milne Well Dressed Homes Are you building permanent seating like in the picture? The bench is very close to the firepit in this picture which tells me it is not a wood burning firepit. If you are planning on a wood burning firepit a good rule of thumb is 7'. If you are using a gas firepit then it would be the same as a coffee table in front of a sofa which is 12 to 18". You also want to consider if you want people to be able to walk around the firepit. Before building your seating, circle some chairs around the firepit to "try out" the distance. You don't want to be too close and get overheated or have sparks hit you. Good luck!

Emily Hurley I think you must have to build out the bottom of the wall a bit.