Tag: diy fireplace

DIY Outdoor Fireplaces

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.

Christmas Fireplace with fire blazing. Veneer decoration with wood mantel and seating. Vases and pots with flowers and chimney cap stone.
Squared wall firebox built by DIY homeowner

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!!!

Ready to DIY Your Backyard?

DIY Outdoor Fireplaces Are Within Reach

There are so many ways to add value to your home and one of the most impactful ways is to add some nice changes to your backyard. Let’s assume you have a vacant area in your outdoor space and that you want to build an outdoor fireplace or outdoor kitchen. There are several ways to do it, and the best and most inexpensive way is to do the lifting and building on your own.

DIY outdoor fireplace built from cinderblocks and mortar covered in stone veneer. Metal art on chimney and pool and hot tub in front of fireplace. Patio furniture and wooden fence. Construction zone in backyard of Cholla design.
Cholla fireplace design built by DIY homeowner using a Backyard Flare construction planh

Everyone has the ability of hiring a contractor. This will involve having a meeting and discussion with them about your vision. The contractor may have suggestions and his/her own thoughts about the layout and your backyard. They may or may not know how to build an outdoor fireplace but they won’t tell you if they don’t. They may have their own specialty in designing a certain way. Many of them are very good at what they do and their final result will be great, the majority of the time.

What is Your Favorite Design?

But what if you just like the idea of building the fireplace by yourself? Have you thought of yourself as a “do it yourselfer”? You may want to go look in the mirror and envision yourself in the DIY realm because it is so achievable to build an outdoor fireplace.

DIY outdoor fireplace built from cinderblocks and mortar covered in stucco and paint. Construction zone in backyard of Santa Cruz design with desert foliage behind and mountains.
Santa Cruz fireplace design being built by a DIY homeowner using a construction plan

You don’t have to figure it out all by yourself either. Backyard Flare in Tucson is a design company that focuses on outdoor fireplaces and outdoor kitchens. They sell DIY fireplace plans and kitchen plans for homeowners just like you, so you can build with confidence.

DIY outdoor fireplace built from cinderblocks and mortar under pergola. Construction zone in backyard of Tombstone design.
Tombstone fireplace design being built by a DIY homeowner using a construction plan

Maybe you have an idea in your head of what you think your backyard fireplace will look like. Maybe you have seen pictures of outdoor fireplaces and you want to build one like those. The beauty is that all of our designs are very modifiable. We may have a design and DIY construction plan available that isn’t on our Backyard Flare website.

Call us and let’s discuss your design – 520-269-9740. We will save you money and we will give you the confidence you are looking for to build on your own.

Visit Us Today And Get Started

We hope that you’ll visit our website and browse through our designs and pictures. Most of our customers are DIY homeowners who have little to no masonry knowledge or experience. We are confident that you will be successful in building an outdoor fireplace or kitchen using our DIY construction plans. We have taken out the guess work and we want you to have a great DIY experience.

DIY Outdoor Fireplace Costs

    How expensive is it…really?

    So do you have a desire to add a DIY outdoor fireplace to your backyard? Have you been thinking about designs and placement? Anything you build on your own or have built to improve your outdoor living space will have a cost associated with it. Build costs can be drastically different when you compare a DIY built fireplace to one you pay to have built.

    By saying that the build costs vary drastically, that is no overstatement in any way. Let’s break this down, starting with how much a DIY built fireplace would cost. When you get a construction plan from Backyard Flare, LLC, you will get a materials list that tells you exactly how many of each block, how much mortar, concrete, steel, etc, that you will need to build a specific design.

    • DIY Outdoor Fireplace – Tortolita Design – built by homeowner using a Backyard Flare construction plan

    DIY Outdoor Fireplace Costs Broken Down

    Each building material has a cost, so for ease of explanation, let’s use $1.00 as the cost for a block, $3.00 for a bag of concrete, and $4.00 for a bag of mortar. Let’s then throw in $300.00 for other build materials like firebrick, wood, angle iron, and rebar. If you have a fireplace design that would require 150 blocks, that is $150.00 to start. Let’s say 10 bags of mortar and 15 bags of concrete also, so that would be $40.00 and $45.00, respectively. With the added $300.00, the total would be approximately $545.00 for the rough building materials.

    Let’s say you were able to pour your own foundation for $300.00 in materials. Also, that you found a great looking veneer for a total of $500.00. Adding these costs to the rough build, your total build materials for the fireplace would be approximately $1,345. With no labor costs, and only sweat equity and a whole lot of fun, your costs wouldn’t exceed that for the most part.

    outdoor fireplace cholla veneered swimming pool
    This is our Cholla design built by a DIY homeowner

    Contractor Costs Broken Down

    When you have a contractor build the fireplace, you need to start with the $1,345 cost for materials to get a decent calculation. Most of the time, there are additional costs associated with mark-up for the materials. We won’t add those in. At least here in the Arizona area, we have figured out that average labor costs are 4-5 times the materials cost. These calculations would be $1,345 X 4 and $1,345 X 5. These equal $5,380 and $6,725, respectively.

    These two labor amounts are only approximate and they are not set in stone. When you add the two labor costs to the $1,345 cost for materials, you could expect to pay $6,725 to $8,070 for the fireplace.

    Are you Convinced Yet?

    When we look at the differences between the costs of a DIY built fireplace and a contractor built fireplace, there are literally thousands of dollars separating them. Most people would agree that saving money is important. This savings can be directly attributed to building your fireplace DIY style.

    When you’re ready to build a gorgeous outdoor fireplace on a budget, your first stop should be www.backyardflare.com. We can offer you a step by step DIY construction plan that will guide you all the way through your build. No sense in trying to figure it out on your own. Starting at only $39.99, you will have the best and most comprehensive DIY construction plan on the market. We look forward to helping you with your DIY project.