Sounds simply wonderful! Grab the marshmallows, hot chocolate --- and get cozy!

Do check your local/city regulations -- some places are getting sticky about outdoor fires. You MIGHT have to be sure to get a screened "lid" for it .....

And don't forget to put it in a safe spot -- and on a fireproof surface ...... don't want those s'mores to get outta control! LOL! :)

Jan

Definitely get the screen that goes on top of it. We didn't and my daughter made the mistake of pulling one of our chaise lounges too close to it. A spark flew out, (fortunately didn't hit her leg) landed on the cushion and burned a hole in it. Ash was everywhere too.

Now we have the screen. The firepit is fun!

I have a portable firepit that I bought soon after I arrived here in Phoenix. In December, January and February it can get cool at night here and I like having a wood fire.

You live in New England and don't have a fireplace? Well, I'm thinking you need a fire someplace and it might as well be outside, then.

Go for it!

We have a large chimnea on our patio and just love it. We have fires from late Spring to October. I'd like to keep it out year round but the freezing could crack it.

I say go for it! Anything you can do to extend the outdoor season is worth it!

Jan, I plan to put the whole array on a bed of pea gravel. That and the screen should keep us safe. Yikes Cind...prefer not to set my chairs on fire!

Threed, I wanted one in FL too, but it just never happened. We did have a hot tub though, for the "cold" winter nights!

Parma, you can chat with DH about no fireplace. He said it would just be messy and we'd rarely use it. When I started to look at our house plan and furniture, I realized it was either a fireplace or the grand piano. Piano won. Maybe that will force me to take lessons...?

I was sad to give up that option and I may regret it. At the time, I didn't feel like fighting over it. At the time, I was in Florida and didn't know any better! All my friends and family up here have fireplaces and they can count on one hand the number of times they have used them, so maybe DH is right.

RM, when ya comin' over?

Oooh teeda, news from the 'hood! :-) We'll have a patio, too. Maybe I should think about that instead.

We had a portable firepit that we replaced with a permanent gas firepit (we use lava rocks inside the pit). Of the two, I prefer the gas firepit. No mess and no burning sparks flying out to burn our patio furniture or legs! You do sacrifice the smell of burning wood, though.

We use ours most often when we have company. Pull the chairs around and make s'mores - fun!

We love our firepit! When we had a railroad-tie wall replaced with stone, we had the contractor create a curved firepit area, with boulders as seats. I made cushions a few years ago, and DH put the flagstone in earlier this year. He also made a grill out of rebar, which you can see part of in this photo (the actual grill is elsewhere; we had taken it camping recently).

We spend many hours at our firepit, cooking dinner on the grill or just hanging out.

Yeah!
Some thoughts... Some of my friends had lovely clay chimineas, but they eventually crack even if kept covered and stored indoors in winter. I have a metal chiminea, but I find it a PITA because you have to cut the logs down small enough to fit in. Several other friends have the portable fire pit...basically the copper bowl on legs type of thing. Thought I would like this the least. I thought it might be more smoky too, but for the portables I think it functions the best. Fire is visible from all sides, and it can be moved around and stored much more easily. If you want a fixed location, you may want to consider building a fire ring. In campsites it is just a simple circle of rocks, typically flat ones, piled several levels high. Have also seen pictures of ones made out of various landscape block/retaining wall type materials. Saw in a magazine a guy who built one out of industrial concrete sewerpipe connector rings that was pretty neat too.

Oops, forgot to post these links!

A video how to:
http://www.progressivefarmer.com/farmer/diy/video/firepit.html

http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/outdoor/installation/build-your-own-fire-pit/

Here is a link that might be useful: photogallery

Definitely yes! We have one with the screen and love it. We can use it a big part of the year here. I love putting logs in it as we have a gas fireplace inside, so it's nice to be able to use wood somewhere. LOL

I saw on a recent landscaping show one I really liked. It was kind of squared firepit or portable fireplace, not really sure what it was called, but they had built a box that was basically a top, bottom and end pieces. The side were open and they stacked the wood in the *box*. I didn't see what type material they used on the top of the box, it was something fireproof, and the pit or firebox, whatever the heck it was, sat on top of the box with the wood. It looked good and it raised the firebox up to a nice height.

tina

We live in the woods and have a firepit in the yard we use all the time. It's just a nice ring of rocks. But we do have the Adirondack chairs.

amy, we had one built last fall, a very simple interlocking stone-look brick. We put it away from the house, under a pole barn that has a gravel and pinestraw floor and is open on all four sides. The roof is very high, about 20 feet. We love it---we can use it on damp and rainy fall days because of the barn roof :) We have four natural wood adirondack chairs around it... I guess I had the same fantasy you do! They're very comfortable, just right for cooking marshmallows on a stick.

If you build a permanent one that isn't essentially just a ring of rocks on the ground, make sure it has a cover and excellent drainage. Some friends of mine have one - a beautiful one of mortared stone - that collected water something fierce every time it rained and then became Mosquito Central until the water evaporated out, and until they put a cover on it to keep the rain out. It's a disc of metal with loop handles welded on. They also have to clean out critter (raccoon, squirrel, etc.) nests every spring because something always takes up residence during the winter.

The freestanding ones that look like giant woks can be flipped over to keep from collecting water and moved into a cellar or garage for the winter. There are some great looking ones out there. We have one (currently packed away) but no Adirondack chairs.

In some towns, firepits per se are against code, but "outdoor barbecues" are perfectly fine, so you just get a grill that will fit on top of the firepit/firebowl even if you don't use it. The large-chunk hardwood charcoal (not briquettes or the little pieces) is a good alternative if conventional firewood is a no-no, as it is in some residential areas.