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Outdoor Gas Fireplaces – Add a Magical Touch to Your Yard or Garden

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Since time immemorial, people have enjoyed sitting outside around a roaring fire.  There are few activities that are more relaxing than watching the dancing flames while surrounded by darkness, the warmth of the fire driving off the chill evening air.  Now, outdoor gas fireplaces allow you to enjoy all of the advantages of a roaring campfire, without the attendant risks or hassle of dealing with open flames.

Outdoor fireplaces come in a variety of formats to add a cozy ambiance to your outdoor living space while fitting your individual style.  Give an elegant flair to your porch or patio with a traditional-looking fireplace built into the outside wall of your home, or choose a contemporary look with a free-standing adobe chimney with your choice of fireplace built in.

If you prefer a rugged look for your outdoor fireplace, select a gas fire pit that mimics the look of a campfire, without the heavy smoke of burning logs.  Surrounding the fire pit with rocks or bricks to match your outdoor décor makes the gas fire pit fit right into your landscaping style.  And best of all, you can even cook or toast marshmallows and hotdogs right over the flames.

Gas fireplaces for outdoor spaces can be installed using your home’s natural gas lines, or portable, running on propane gas.  This means that you have the flexibility to choose how permanent your fireplace structure will be.

Furthermore, installing a gas fireplace is a solid investment in your home.  Studies have shown that outdoor fireplaces are much more frequently used than their indoor counterparts, and that they significantly increase the market value of your home.

Even if you live in a city, there is no reason to forego the pleasure of enjoying your own fire on a fine evening, thanks to outdoor gas-burning fireplaces.  Add warmth, conviviality, and magic to your garden or patio area with this creative decorating idea.

Five Must-Have Outdoor Fireplace Accessories

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A fireplace is a great addition to any back yard, adding an instant touch of sophistication and beauty, as well as the practical benefits of extra warmth and a good place to cook.  However, a fireplace alone won’t be of much use to you if you don’t have the right tools to use it properly.

 

Here are five of the most useful outdoor fireplace accessories for new owners to purchase:


Fire Screen
Fire screens are important accessories for the safety of your outdoor fireplace, as well as having a practical purpose.  They prevent logs from rolling out of the fireplace, keep down the amount of soot and cinders that escape the fire to swirl around the air, and prevent accidents such as a loose piece of clothing coming too close to the flames.  Plus, they look pretty, too!

Grills and Rotisseries
Cooking over your outdoor fireplace will be both easier and more fun if you have the right kinds of grills to work with the meals you want to serve.  Consider a rotisserie for tender, juicy grilled chicken, rib racks for that delectable barbeque taste, or a sandwich cooker for the perfect hamburger.

Outdoor Fireplace Tools
To create, maintain, and clean up after the perfect fire, you need to have the right tools for the job.  Long tongs and a poker to position logs, a bellows to fan the flames, and a shovel to empty the ashes are a few of the tools that you’ll need to work with your outdoor fireplace effectively.

Chimney Caps
Drafts can cause a good fire to belch flames and soot, and water in your chimney can extinguish one altogether.  Keep your outdoor fire in prime condition with a chimney cap to keep out wind, dirt, and rain.

Fireplace Covers
Protect your outdoor fireplace when it is not in use with a sturdy fireplace cover.  You can add years of life to your backyard fire pit with this simple precaution.

A Guide to Cleaning Outdoor Fireplaces

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As with indoor fireplaces, an outdoor fireplace requires cleaning and maintenance to keep it looking and working at its best. While you might not have to clean your outdoor fireplace as often, you will need to be sure to keep it reasonably tidy and maintained.

To do this, follow these simple tips:

Wood burning outdoor fireplaces require more cleaning and maintenance than the gas variety. The main issue with cleaning outdoor fireplaces is ash removal. The tendency with outdoor fireplaces is to let the ash build up until it becomes unmanageable or it starts to cause problems or hazards. To avoid this, clean the ash out of your fireplace weekly. If you use your fireplace every night, you might want to step this up to two or three times a week.

Other problems that are unique to outdoor fireplaces are animal droppings and weather elements that might work to mar the brick and mortar of your fireplace. To keep these issues from becoming overwhelming, clean any droppings or stains on the brick immediately after you spot them. Cleaning a spot here and there is a lot easier to handle than spending an entire afternoon on this nasty little project.

Also remember to clean your chimney if you have one. Even though the chimney on your outdoor fireplace does not pass through your home, a clean chimney is vital to maintain a properly burning fire and is a necessity for directing the smoke up and into the air instead of out to you and your guests.

Outdoor Fireplaces – Make practical Use of the Outdoors in the Fall & Winter.

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outdoor-fireplace-copperfield

Copperfield 16139 GSS36N Outdoor Fireplace

When landscaping their outdoor spaces, many people choose to splurge on one major feature.

Many times this is a water feature such as a fountain or pond. While these features are beautiful and add ambience to any outdoor space, they offer little else by way of comfort. Outdoor fireplaces, on the other hand, can add beauty, ambience, functionality and comfort to your outdoor areas.

Fireplaces are also a great way to add a decorative focal point to any space. You can create an elegant statement or add rustic charm. You can incorporate them into elaborate outdoor entertaining areas or simply create an intimate, cozy area for you and that special someone. Or how about snuggling up to a fire after an evening dip in the pool?

Fireplaces – Make practical use of the outdoors in the Fall & Winter.

Another reason that you may want to include a fireplace in your outdoor plan is a very practical one. You may have noticed that the use of traditional indoor fireplaces has declined. This is not because people do not want to have fireplaces in their home. It is because insurance companies have made it very expensive and sometimes impossible to include one in your home. With an outdoor fireplace, though, you can still have the fireplace that you’ve always dreamed of and it won’t cost you a fortune in insurance premiums.

Fireplaces are also more functional than building a regular pitted fire in many ways. With a fireplace, you can direct heat into your seating area instead of dispersing it aimlessly into the air. Just think about the times that you’ve sat with your loved ones around a fire. Did it seem like every time that you got comfy the wind would shift and the comfy warmth you were feeling would be replaced by a chilly breeze? And what about the smoke? With a fireplace the smoke is directed up and away from you and your guests.

Granted, fireplaces take a little more thought and planning than a fire pit would. Some are permanent fixtures and cost quite a bit more. So, they should only be chosen by people who would really get some use out of them or those who want to increase the value of their home. If this doesn’t sound like you, you might want to look into portable fireplaces. These cost quite a bit less and can be moved when your décor changes or if you move from your home.

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