Fire Pits & Fireplaces in Dallas-Fort Worth

A built-in fire pit in Dallas-Fort Worth starts around $3,000. A full masonry outdoor fireplace runs $8,000 to $20,000, and a fireplace built into a larger outdoor living structure goes higher.

Gas lights instantly, produces no smoke or ash, and shuts off when you're done. That convenience is the difference between something you use every week and something you use twice a year. It needs a gas line run from the house, which is the main cost driver. Expect $1,500 to $4,000 depending on the distance and whether the line has to cross a finished patio.

Wood costs less to build, needs no utility, and gives you the crackle and smell that some people specifically want. The trade-offs are smoke management, ash cleanout, and wood storage.

Most of our clients choose gas for a fire pit near the house and wood for a fireplace set further out in the yard.

Because our winters are mild. From October through March, evenings here sit in the 40s and 50s. That is cool enough that an open patio goes unused, and mild enough that a fire makes it genuinely comfortable.

That's the actual return: a fire feature converts a three-season patio into a year-round one. Of everything in an outdoor living space, it's the element that most changes how many days a year the space gets used.

It also anchors a layout. A fire feature gives the patio a center. Furniture arranges around it, and the space looks designed instead of like an empty slab.

A few rules that matter here:

• Clearance. Most municipalities require a minimum distance from structures and property lines; 10 feet from the house is a common minimum for wood-burning.
• Gas requires a permit. Any new gas line needs permitting and inspection in nearly every DFW city.
• Cover matters. A wood-burning fire pit under a roof or pergola is a code problem in most jurisdictions. Gas features can often be covered with proper clearance and ventilation.
• Burn bans. Counties across North Texas issue burn bans in dry summers. Gas features are typically exempt; wood-burning is not.
• Set it on stone. Fire features belong on masonry, pavers, or stone, never straight onto a wood deck.

A fire pit is social and open. Everyone faces in, conversation works in a circle, and it seats more people per dollar. It works best in the middle of a patio with clear space around it.

A fireplace builds structure. It creates a wall, a focal point, and a sense of enclosure, and it makes an outdoor room in a way a fire pit cannot. It also blocks wind and directs heat one direction, which is more useful on an exposed lot.

If you have an open backyard and entertain groups, build a pit. If you want the patio to feel like a room, or you need a windbreak, build a fireplace.

We build fire features throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, most often as part of a larger patio or outdoor kitchen project in Prosper, Allen, Southlake, and Frisco.