What's the best material to use when building an outdoor fireplace?

Question

I would like to built an outdoor fireplace where everyone can sit around it.

Answer 1

brick or stone. i would talk to someone who works with masonry for a living... your fireplace will be subject to extremely high and low temperatures, and all kinds of moisture. you'll want to make sure that your morter will hold up to the extremes.

Answer 2

We used the inside of a washing machine as the base. You bury the 'tub' in the ground so only half of it is above ground level. Then fill with about a third full with sand and gravel . This will prevent fire from burning tree roots and spreading underground. Next we encased the wash tub with landscape brick we bought at the hardware store. No mortar needed. They were interconnecting.
We laid regular 'red brick' in a pattern all around the fireplace for a sitting area/patio effect.

Answer 3

Here's a link that has a bunch of articles about firepits and fireplaces and what is new or available. Lots of good ideas from simple to complex. Some really cool ones and links to DIY stuff too.
Just make sure there is no ordinance against having an outdoor firepit or fireplace in your town.
http://sicarius.typepad.com/fireplace_lowdown/outdoor_fireplaces/index.html

Answer 4

Most important tip Id say is to pick a spot away from all trees and tall ones especailly ..make sure you above is fireplace freiendly..the rest is up to you..My dad has had one for 50 years and he built his out of metal lathe and stucco its really cool and still works fine..when I was a kid I roasted bread balls on it..ha ha we thought we were making bread..it was fun.

Answer 5

Fireclay for bricks in the combustion area, fireclay molded flue sections for chimney/exhaust section, and regular brick for other areas. Brick will be easier for you to work with, though for the parts not exposed to direct heat you have alternatives like adobe, concrete, or stone.

Answer 6

brick