Fire pit vs outdoor fireplace — which is better for my patio?
In Black Mountain the usual keep-the-view-open argument for a fire pit is weaker than you'd think — up in Montreat and the wooded Swannanoa Valley lots, your view is often trees, not a ridgeline. That tips a lot of patios toward the outdoor fireplace as the anchor of a sheltered outdoor room. On an open lot with a real vista, the pit still wins.
Shaded, cool, and colder in the morning
The Swannanoa Valley's temperature inversions make Black Mountain mornings run ten to fifteen degrees colder than Asheville, and Montreat's heavily wooded lots stay shaded, cool, and damp deep into the day. On that kind of lot, a fireplace earns its extra cost: the wall blocks the settling cold air, the firebox throws heat forward at seated height, and you get an outdoor room you'll actually use on chilly evenings instead of a circle you abandon at dusk. Where a lot opens onto a genuine mountain view, though, keep it low — a pit protects the vista that made the property worth buying.
Natural gas and a short drive
Black Mountain sits on the natural-gas mains, so either a pit or a fireplace ties into a permanent gas line rather than a tank. Running or extending that line is licensed work in North Carolina — a mason or landscaper can build beautiful stone but legally can't connect the fuel. We can, we pull the Buncombe County permit, and we pressure-test the line. We're only 15 minutes east of the Emma Road showroom, so line runs and any future service call are quick.
Fireplace help in Black Mountain
We install and service fireplaces throughout Black Mountain and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Outdoor gas fireplace vs outdoor wood-burning fireplace — which should I build?
- Masonry outdoor fireplace vs a prefab outdoor fireplace kit — which is better?
- Gas fire pit vs wood-burning fire pit — which is better?
- What's the difference between a fire pit and a fire table?
- Gas fire pit vs patio heater — which keeps you warmer outside?