Hey there. I am assuming you are an aspiring DIYer and that’s how you found yourself reading this blog post about DIY outdoor fireplaces. I’m Dan and I founded Backyard Flare quite a few years ago. Since then, I have been helping DIY homeowners achieve their dreams of building outdoor fireplaces. It’s so much fun to see the finished projects and share in their achievements.
There are so many questions to answer too, and I would love to address them all. In due time I guess. Since we need to start somewhere, I figured that I will address one question per blog post for a while. I’ll start with one of the most common questions. Should I build angled or squared walls in my firebox?
Why No Angled Walls in the Firebox?
I get this question more than most. One of the first things most people do before stepping into a new DIY project is do some online searches for content and information. With regard to outdoor fireplaces, one thing that surfaces a lot are angled walls in fireboxes, commonly referred to as a Rumford design.
This design is really cool and there is some functionality to it within reason. Mostly, a Rumford design is meant for indoor applications. To build angled walls on an outdoor fireplace is just not necessary. Some will say that they prefer to build that way for the looks, and my response is always the same. Go for it.
You Don’t NEED Angled Walls Actually
Here’s why. If you examine an angled wall fireplace, you will most likely have a lot of internal stuff, maybe a smoke shelf, possibly a damper, and a lot of narrowing. That’s all fine and dandy on an indoor fireplace where you have control over wind and breezes. But not outdoors!!!
Wind and breezes affect every fireplace performance regardless of how it’s constructed; angled walls or squared walls. We prefer to maximize the size of our fireboxes with squared walls. This allows us to get the fire grate behind the lintel, so more smoke follows the draw and path of least resistance. Basically, that means up the chimney.
No one likes it when smoke billows out the firebox and up the front face of the structure. It’s actually unsightly and frankly, it’s annoying. We have seen more issues with Rumford built outdoor fireplaces with this than square box designs.
Verdict?
We the jury find for squared walls on our DIY outdoor fireplaces. There you have it folks, the verdict is in. Now there is always room for more discussion on this topic, so we are always available. If you’d like more info or if you’d like to reach out with additional questions, email Dan at dan@backyardflare.com. Or find more information at www.backyardflare.com your home of the best DIY outdoor fireplace construction plans on the market.
As always, happy building everybody. Go DIY something!!!
