Hello, Muddymesawoman

Thanks for the info.

I'd like to know if there's a tufa version of a firepit, maybe a small scale project. There must be a good mix of tufa materials, although maybe the peat moss will cause it to explode if it catches fire.

There have been a couple of projects I've been wanting to tackle on that involve direct tufa-to-fire contact, but given my inexperience, I've held back cause I really have no knowledge of how it would behave in such circumstances. Any information will be greatly appreciated

Hey Amaretto-

I really think that any aggregate that would be combustible (peat moss, paper), toxic when heated (definitely vermiculite, possibly perlite) or otherwise susceptible to intensive heating would not be a good candidate for a firepit, so that kind of lets hypertufa out, but you could build benches and other seating around the pit out of tufa, as long as it was reinforced to the point that it would bear a couple of people's weight.

Unfortunately, hypertufa just is not good material for immediate contact with extreme heat.

Jo

Hmmm...

Good points. I kind of figure that, but wanted to hear it from the experts, although I was more concerned about the resistance than the toxicity.

Here's an idea: Straight up concrete for surfaces near or in direct contact with fire. Maybe even top off with teracotta tile or something.

Then, for the outter surface, tufa rock walls... hmmmm... rustic :-) I can smell the marshmellows already