We get a lot of questions about the feasibility of having an outdoor fireplace in your roofed porch. This can include either your open porch or your enclosed porch. Many people love the ambiance of a fireplace in an outdoor porch because of the atmosphere and aesthetics it adds to your outdoor room. An outdoor fireplace can also be a great way to add some heat to your room although that’s not always the primary purpose.
When roofed porches are designed from scratch it’s feasible to design a fireplace into it. Most commonly these are natural gas and not wood burning because natural gas zero clearance outdoor fireplaces are readily available, approved by code if they’re properly installed and are usually going to be more convenient and easier to use as well as less expensive than wood burning.
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1. Fireplace location on the porch
There a quite a few considerations for the placement of your fireplace! The size and shape of the porch would be reflective of where the fireplace would sit in the porch. Depending on the type of fireplace you have, codes may also determine how close the fireplace can be to the house and/or which wall it will need to go on. Typical placement of the fireplace is off the side of the porch to allow for the fire box to be placed outside your living square footage. Another key consideration for placement is whether you would like to leave a certain area of your porch unimpeded by the fireplace, or even if you would like to block a particular area for privacy or to keep the evening sun at bay.
2. View from the porch
A fireplace is a large structure. One of the things to consider is whether or not the fireplace would block the view in a particular direction and if that’s okay with you.
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3. Source of gas
If you go with a gas burning outdoor fireplace, one of the things to consider is the accessibility of tapping into the gas line. Is the gas line readily accessible or is it at the other end of the house where it will be expensive to get gas to the new fireplace?
4. Budget
An outdoor fireplace is a big budget item which can easily add $5,000 to $10,000 to your budget depending on the type of fire box, the trim surround, and other components of the fireplace. Pricing is all over the board and dependent on several factors. For example, the firebox itself varies depending on the type you get and alone it can be $2,000 – $5,000.
5. Codes and inspection
It is important to understand local building codes as they apply to outdoor fireplace installations. When using an experienced porch contractor, they will be familiar with the local codes which is important.
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While an outdoor fireplace is a substantial expense, it’s important to consider how often you will use the porch and what you will use the porch for. If you are adding a fireplace to an enclosed porch, you may use that room a good percentage of the year. Our customers often tell us their porch is their favorite room in the house.
If you’re going to invest in adding a porch and you are considering adding a fireplace, take the benefits as well as the items we’ve mentioned into consideration. Then give us a ring for a free consultation at (913) 704-6240.
