Can I build my own gas fire pit or should a professional install it?
In Fairview, the enclosure is yours to build — but the fuel is ours, and out on these wooded rural lots that means propane. Because propane is heavier than air, the venting and a pressure-tested line matter even more, and only a licensed contractor can legally run and connect it. We handle the tank, burner, and test; you or a hardscaper build the shell. We permit it with Buncombe County.
Propane on wooded Fairview lots
Fairview is propane country — large wooded lots out Cane Creek Valley, Garren Creek, and along the Charlotte Highway corridor, where wood heat is popular and natural-gas mains don't reach. For a fire pit, that makes the fuel side a propane job, and propane's behavior is the whole reason it's licensed work.
It's heavier than air, so a leaking or poorly vented enclosure lets fuel settle and pool at the pit rather than dissipating. We connect at the tank and regulator, run the outdoor-rated line, build the air venting into the enclosure so stray gas escapes, size the burner orifices for LP, and pressure-test the line. The shell — block, pad, veneer — is the part you or your hardscaper can build.
Wooded, damp, and worth doing right
Those same wooded lots keep Fairview cool and shaded, and moisture lingers — the kind of conditions that make fall chimney sweeps essential indoors and drainage essential outdoors. A fire pit needs a base that sheds water away from the burner and hardware, or ignition fouls and metal corrodes.
We spec that base and drainage with your hardscaper, rough in the propane line before the pad is poured, pull the Buncombe County permit, and meet the inspector, then pressure-test before you light it. Loop us in early — before the caps go on — so we set the burner cutout to fit. We're about 15 minutes east of the showroom. Call (828) 545-0525 to plan it.
Fireplace help in Fairview
We install and service fireplaces throughout Fairview and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Can I build a fire pit enclosure out of pavers or retaining wall blocks?
- What is a fire pit burner kit and can I drop one into my own enclosure?
- Can my landscaper build the fire pit enclosure while a licensed gas company installs the burner and gas line?
- Can I run my own gas line to a fire pit?
- Do I need a permit to install a gas fire pit?