Green Scene builds two kinds of fire feature. Fire pits run from a simple kit to a stacked-stone ring set into a seat wall. Outdoor fireplaces are full masonry builds with a firebox, a hearth and a mantle. Either one can burn wood or run on gas, and both sit on a patio of brick, concrete or porcelain pavers laid over a stabilized base.
The fireplace is the bigger commitment. It’s a heavy masonry structure, and in Middle Tennessee it almost always needs a construction permit before the first stone is set.
Fire pit or outdoor fireplace: which suits your patio?
Choose a fire pit if you want people sitting in a circle, and a fireplace if you want a wall to face. A pit takes less room and works in the middle of a patio. A fireplace anchors one end, sends its heat one way, screens a view or a neighbor’s window, and gives the whole patio something to look at after dark.
Green Scene has built its patio packages around both. One paired a 300-square-foot patio with a central pit; the larger one put a fireplace on 500 square feet of pavers, with the firebox, hearth and mantle each priced as its own add-on.
Do you need a permit to build an outdoor fireplace?
Almost always. Green Scene works with permit offices across Middle Tennessee and files as part of the job, which is a big reason do-it-yourself fireplace projects stall. The office depends on the address: inside Nolensville’s town limits it’s the Town’s Building Codes Department, and a house just outside goes through Williamson County Codes.
Gas gets decided early for a similar reason. The line has to be in the ground before the pavers go over it.
Our promise? Truthful estimates. On-time schedules. No surprises.
Teresa & Jose Garcia
What changes the price of an outdoor fireplace?
The parts you choose, mostly. Green Scene prices them in writing after a site visit, and these are what move the number:
- The size of the patio it stands on
- Wood-burning or gas, and the run for a gas line
- The firebox, hearth and mantle, each a separate item
- Seat walls around a pit or flanking a fireplace
- The stone and the paver
Jose Garcia, who still quotes every job, will tell you which pieces can wait for a second phase without ripping up the patio later.
What did the Brentwood fireplace patio look like?
A stacked-stone fireplace on a paver patio in Brentwood, under a cedar pergola, photographed at night with the fire going and the patio lights on. The pergola over it is the kind of structure Green Scene builds on patios and pergolas, and the night lighting comes from its landscape and exterior lighting work.
Where should a fire pit go in the backyard?
On ground that drains, where the base can be built level and people can reach it on a path instead of across wet grass. Because Green Scene reviews drainage before it designs anything, a pit doesn’t end up in the low corner where water collects. Keep it clear of overhanging branches, and leave enough paver around it for chairs to slide back. If the yard needs a bigger plan first, start with hardscape design.