A fire pit is the single best way to get more months out of a Michigan backyard. It makes a cool April evening or a late October night in Walled Lake worth sitting outside for. The first decision is wood or gas, and it changes the cost, the upkeep, and how you will actually use it. Here is the honest breakdown from a crew that builds both.
Wood-burning fire pits
Wood gives you the real thing: crackle, smoke, and a fire you tend. A built stone or block wood-burning pit is usually less expensive to construct than gas because there is no line to run and no burner to buy. The trade-offs are the ones you would expect. You need dry wood on hand, someone has to clean out ash, and the smoke goes wherever the wind takes it, which your neighbors on a tight Wolverine Lake or Birmingham lot may notice. Many Oakland County communities have open-burning rules that allow recreational fires in a contained pit but restrict size, distance from structures, and what can be burned. Check with your township or city before you build.
Gas fire pits
Gas lights with a switch or a key valve, burns clean, and goes out instantly. There is no wood to stack, no ash, and no smoke drifting into the house. Gas costs more up front because a licensed trade has to run a natural gas line from the house or set up propane, and the burner and control components add to the price. In return you get a fire feature you will use on a Tuesday night, not just when you have the energy to build a fire. On patios near the house, or in subdivisions in Novi and West Bloomfield with tighter rules, gas is often the easier fit.
What both need to last in Michigan
- —A footing below the 42-inch frost line. A stone fire pit set on a shallow base heaves and cracks just like a wall does.
- —Fire-rated materials on the inside. Concrete block and most pavers are not meant to take direct fire. The inner ring needs firebrick or a steel insert.
- —Drainage. A pit that holds water fills with ice in January and pushes the stone apart. We build drainage into the base.
- —Clearance. Keep the pit well away from the house, the deck, overhanging trees, and the property line, both for safety and to satisfy local rules.
Where to put it
The best fire pits are part of a patio plan, not dropped in the middle of the lawn. A seat wall around the pit turns it into a room. Setting it a little away from the house gives smoke room to clear and lets the fire become a destination. On lake lots in Commerce, White Lake, and Waterford, a fire pit on a terraced patio facing the water is one of the most requested builds we do.
How we build fire features
Michigan Outdoor Creations builds natural stone and manufactured stone fire pits and outdoor fireplaces on footings poured below frost, with fire-rated liners, drainage detail in the base, and full mortar work built for freeze-thaw. Gas runs are installed by licensed trades and to code. It is the same discipline that goes under our patios and walls: what you cannot see decides whether it lasts.
Thinking about a fire pit or outdoor fireplace in Walled Lake, Novi, Commerce, or anywhere in Oakland County? We will help you pick wood or gas, place it right, and build it once.