A Retaining Wall Goes Hand in Hand with a Fire Pit in Westerville, OH

Every outdoor living space should be a place where people can relax, appreciate the outdoors, and enjoy each others’ company. One of the best ways to spend time in a backyard with friends and loved ones is gathering around a fire pit sharing laughter and conversation. Likewise, one of the most important landscape features for many homes is the retaining wall. The way these two prominent features complement each other can improve the landscape as well as your family’s outdoor lifestyle. Here’s how a retaining wall goes hand in hand with a fire pit in Westerville, OH.

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The Continuity of Masonry

Making permanent improvements to your landscape often uses masonry as the backbone. Your patio, retaining walls, walkways, fire features, etc. can all be built using masonry. Many designs call for a unified look that uses the same materials throughout on the horizontal surfaces, and the same materials on the vertical surfaces (the stone or pavers used underfoot can, of course, be different than the materials used on vertical surfaces but they should complement each other.

A retaining wall and fire pit can use the same materials for continuity of design. The only caveat here is that you need to use fire-rated masonry blocks for the fire pit. One way to achieve a unified look while keeping an eye toward safety is to clad the retaining wall in a veneer, use fire-rated concrete blocks on the interior of the fire pit, and cladding the exterior with the same veneer used on the retaining wall. This theme can continue onto the other vertical elements including the outdoor kitchen, pillars, and water features.

Giving Each Element Its Own Character

That’s a starting point - but it’s not a rule. Some people prefer bold and dramatic designs where each element has its own character. For example, a sleek metal bowl-style fire pit wouldn’t be echoed in a stacked fieldstone retaining wall.

If you don’t want these two elements to be completely different, you can tie the retaining wall and fire pit together using a single unifying material such as a brick border incorporated into the wall itself, and surrounding the fire pit. This way you could have your cool ultramodern steel fire pit and still have it look like it belongs next to a stacked fieldstone retaining wall.

Location: the Ideal Fire Pit Placement for Ultimate Coziness

If you place a fire pit next to a retaining wall, the wall will help to keep the heat in the immediate space. It will also deflect the winds in the fire pit area for added comfort. Integrating seating into the retaining wall is the warmest and coziest way to enjoy the fire, since no cold wind is blowing at your back. Even better, it’s a great spot from which to enjoy the view of the landscape. If you don’t want to or can’t integrate seating into the retaining wall, consider a seat wall next to the fire; and if your retaining wall needs to be higher to hold back the soil on a steel slope, the retaining wall could be built as a series of terraces: the lowest layer being a seat wall backed with plantings; and one or two terraces above, filled with shrubs or flowers, to soften the look.

Another way is to put comfortable portable seating next to the wall. Either way, sitting with your back against the retaining wall and facing the fire is the best way to stay toasty.

Related: HERE IS HOW A RETAINING WALL CAN BE BOTH FUNCTIONAL AND ATTRACTIVE IN SUNBURY AND WESTERVILLE, OH