Joe Duley and his wife, Charly, don’t have a very large backyard. But they love sitting around their outdoor fire pit they bought for $59, enjoying a warm fire expertly built by Charly, a former Campfire Girl from London.
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They invite friends over and listen to music while they make S’mores, a treat they never had until they moved to Maine.
“Honestly, as a kid who grew up in the city on cement, it makes me feel as close to Lewis and Clark as possible,” said Duley, a creative consultant and co-host with Charly of the radio show “Dining With the Duleys.”
Fire pits and chimineas come in more styles and sizes than ever before, and fall is the time of year when sales go up, as Mainers take advantage of the warmth they provide to extend their time outdoors before winter descends in earnest. Some people even use them in winter, shoveling a path around their pit.
“The last few years have been kind of an interesting time for these products,” said Gerard Giordano, outdoor power equipment and inside lawn and garden sales specialist at Lowe’s in Portland. “This is really something that’s come along in a much bigger way these last five or six years. Sales have really increased.
“People are, let’s be honest, not traveling as much as they used to. The staycation becomes a more appealing option, and this is something that really lets people extend their season right in their home. All of a sudden, the fact that the sun is down at 6:30 to 7 o’clock really is not that big a deal. You’re able to make use of your outdoor space to a much greater extent far, far further into the year.”
Options range from around $30 to $40 for a very basic model all the way up to $2,000 or more for more decorative fireplaces that incorporate tile or slate. They’re not just made out of wrought iron anymore.
What are some of the “hot” trends with these outdoor accessories?
• Jim Ford, merchandise assistant manager at Home Depot in South Portland, says the basic iron fire pit is still one of the more popular choices, but more people are building their own these days with fire pit “kits.”
“What I’m really seeing a lot of people do, because they’re trying to add value to their home, they’re trying to really improve the backyard,” he said.
Ford said more people are picking out the style of stone they want, then building a circular pit that has a metal insert. It creates a more permanent structure.
“Some of these fire pits, they have the nice little tile tables,” he said, “so if there’s not snow on the ground and it’s just a little chilly, you can sit out by the fire and you can still eat around the little campfire and still have that ambience going into the wintertime.”
• Even people who live in apartments and condos are learning to enjoy their outdoor space around a fire. Smaller fire pits are available for people with small backyards or patio areas.
• Outdoor fireplaces fueled by propane are more popular than wood simply because they’re easier to use.
“You can put them on your decks, whereas with the wood ones you can’t because of the combustibility,” said John McAnespie, service manager at Yankee Fireplace & Grill City in Arundel. “For a lot of people wanting to spend time outdoors on their beautiful decks and patios, by just simply adding one of these, you can do that. And a lot of them act as tables, so they’re very universal.”
• There are more designs available, and a lot more people are going with a more contemporary style, especially with the propane models where glass can replace those little fake logs. “Nowadays, people are going with sort of the spa look by adding different colors of class to the burner pans to give a nice accent to it,” McAnespie said.
• Clay chimineas still have their place, but more people are going with other options because with a chiminea, the fire can be viewed from only one side.
• Fire pits that burn wood are safer than they used to be, Giordano said. “You’re seeing a lot more of the lower, flatter models,” he said. “It’s virtually impossible to knock these over.”
Some homeowners have decided they’d rather go their own way and build their own backyard fire pit or fireplace.
That’s what Susan Rooker and her family decided to do at their South Portland home after trying a store-bought outdoor fireplace. Rooker says they were looking for “that quality of gathering around the campfire.”
Rooker estimates that the family’s fire pit cost less than $40 to build. Her husband got plans for it on the Internet and built it in May.
It’s an in-ground pit made with different layers of sand and stone, surrounded by bricks layered around the inside to absorb the heat. The pit is located well away from any buildings, and there is always water handy nearby.
This summer, the family made almost every Friday night an “open house” night where friends could drop by and sit around the fire. One night, they had just one visitor; on others, they had 20 people. Some friends came almost every week.
“We provided some snacks and a little bit of beverages to get things going, but a lot of people just brought their own,” Rooker said. “We always had marshmallows and S’more-making stuff, and people would just drop by. We never really knew who was going to drop by.”
Rooker said her children, ages 12 and 14, loved hanging out around the fire with their friends, and she loved knowing where they were and what they were doing. The pit gave them valuable family time together.
“We are really looking forward to using it in the fall,” Rooker said. “and even into the winter when there’s a lot of snow on the ground. We think that would be a lot of fun.”
Staff Writer Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:
mgoad@pressherald.com
Twitter: MeredithGoad
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