Located in Aurora, Colo., this fire feature was built mostly in-house, starting with a custom frame that we fabricated from aluminum hollow square stock to keep the weight down. We clad the frame with 1⁄2-inch Durock backerboard so that we would have a solid substrate for the stone veneer cladding. The assembly is topped with stone, with the openings sized to fit fire-pit pans and burners supplied by American Fire Glass (americanfireglass.com).
Because the fire pit wraps around the corner of the deck, we had to purchase three of the company’s aluminum fire-pit pans and weld them together to fabricate the three-legged L-shape. Three of the company’s burners daisy-chained together provide the fire pit’s heat.
The project included an outdoor kitchen with a large grill that also had to be fueled by the natural gas. To accommodate the demand, we upgraded the meter and ran an extra-large gas line that could supply 1,000,000 Btu (the fire feature alone pushes out more than 600,000 Btu). We also installed an electronic ignition for convenience.
The etched glass panels were supplied by Denver Glass Interiors (denverglassinteriors.com), with a sand-blasted design that resembles Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, including Pikes Peak. Below the glass, we installed LED strip lighting that changes colors to illuminate the panels at night. Another LED strip light installed under the stone cap lights up the base of the fire pit, creating a terrific nighttime ambiance. Finally, we filled the fire-pit pans with a mixture of decorative broken fire glass, reflective glass fire drops, and fire diamonds, all provided by Star Fire Direct (starfiredirect.com).
