Fire keeps a Wisconsin backyard in use long after the pool closes. A pool here has five good months. A fire feature built into the patio has nine, and it can make a cool April or October evening feel like June. That is why the gas vs wood fire pit question deserves attention early in the design, while it can still shape where the fire goes, what surrounds it and which utilities run beneath the patio.
Our built-in fire features are made in masonry block and burn gas or wood: a masonry block fire pit for a wood fire, or a masonry block fire table with a gas insert. Each one is anchored in place and designed as part of the patio, structures and seating around it.
Gas vs. Wood Fire Pit: How Each One Feels
Start with the kind of evening you have in mind. One option gives you fire on demand. The other makes building the fire part of the night.
Gas: an instant, clean flame
A gas fire table lights with a switch or the turn of a valve. The flame comes up right away, burns clean and steady, and goes out when you turn it off. With no firewood to carry and no ash to sweep up the next morning, it is easy to use the fire often.
That ease suits short, spontaneous evenings: half an hour on a weeknight, coffee on a cool May morning, or a party where the host is busy at the grill. The masonry surround doubles as a ledge for drinks and plates.
Wood: a fire you build
A wood-burning fire pit turns the fire itself into an activity. Someone lays the kindling, feeds the first logs and watches it catch. The smell of woodsmoke, the crackle and a glow that lasts late into the evening are why many families choose wood, and an established wood fire gives off strong heat on a cold night.
Wood fits a slower pace: s’mores with the kids, a Friday night in October, a fire that settles into embers while the conversation keeps going. Before everyone heads inside, the fire has to be put out completely.
Here is how the two compare side by side:
| Factor | Gas fire table | Wood-burning fire pit |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting | A switch or the turn of a valve | Kindling, firewood and some patience |
| Heat | Steady warmth around the table | Strong heat once the fire is established |
| Smoke | Very little | Moves with the wind |
| Cleanup | Keep the burner and fire media clear | Remove ash between fires |
| Fuel | A natural gas line, planned at the design stage | A dry, convenient spot for firewood |
| Placement | Close to pools, kitchens and covered seating, within required clearances | Open space, clear of structures, roofs and trees |
| Local rules | Ask how your community treats gas fire features | Check your municipality’s open-burning rules |
| Built-in form | Masonry block fire table with a gas insert | Masonry block fire pit |
Fire Pits, Fire Tables and Fireplaces
Fuel is one decision. Form is another: an outdoor fire pit, a fire table and an outdoor fireplace each gather people in a different way.
Fire pits
A built-in fire pit sits low, the classic setting for a wood fire, with chairs pulled into a circle or a sit-wall built alongside for permanent seating. Our project, Outdoor Oasis, in Green Bay sets a built-in fire pit and block sit-wall on one end of its paver decking, with outcropping retaining walls managing the grade on the other.
Fire tables
A fire table brings the flame up to table height inside a masonry surround with a gas insert. Rectangular tables line up neatly with the edges of a patio or pool deck. Our project, Pool Party, in Appleton places a built-in rectangular gas fire table on the lower patio, which it shares with a built-in outdoor kitchen with a kegerator.
Outdoor fireplaces
An outdoor fireplace is the most architectural of the three. Its back wall and chimney send smoke up and heat toward the seating in front, and it tends to anchor a covered space. Our project, Countryside Haven, in Freedom, Wisconsin, shelters a built-in kitchen, smoker and fireplace under one timberframe roofline that runs the length of the house.
Placement Near Pools, Structures, Kitchens and Seating
Placement is easiest to get right on paper, before the patio base goes in.
Near the pool
A gas fire table can sit close to the pool deck, where swimmers can climb out and warm up on a cool evening. A wood fire near the water sends smoke across the deck and lets ash drift into the pool, so a wood-burning fire pit usually works best a comfortable distance away, often on a patio of its own.
Near structures
Pergolas, pavilions and pool houses add shelter, and any open flame needs room around them. Keep a wood fire well clear of timber beams, roof edges and low branches. A gas fire table is easier to place near a covered space, within the clearances its manufacturer and local code call for. For a fire under the roof itself, an outdoor fireplace with a chimney is often the better fit.
Near the kitchen and seating
An outdoor kitchen and a fire feature make good neighbors when they share a patio with room to move between them. The main thing to plan around is wood smoke drifting over the dinner table, which a gas fire table avoids.
Seating decides how the fire gets used. Built-in sit-walls give a fire pit seating that stays put all year, and a fire table works well with lounge chairs gathered around its ledge. Low outdoor lighting on nearby steps and walkways keeps the way visible after dark while the fire stays the focus.
Wind and smoke
Smoke follows the wind, and with a wood fire it decides where people end up sitting. Before choosing a spot, think about which way the breeze usually crosses your yard on summer and fall evenings and where it would carry the smoke: toward open windows, across the pool deck, under a covered patio or into the neighbor’s yard.
Wind affects gas too. A gas flame can flicker or lean in a strong gust, so an exposed spot on an open country lot, or a yard near Lake Winnebago or the bay, benefits from some shelter. A sit-wall or planting bed on the windward side helps either kind of fire.
Fuel, Upkeep and Local Rules
Plan the gas line at the design stage
A gas fire table is typically connected to a natural gas line that runs underground and beneath the patio, so its route belongs in the design stage, planned with any gas service for an outdoor kitchen before the base and pavers go in. If you are leaning toward wood today and might want gas someday, mention it at the start, while the patio is still on paper.
Maintenance
Gas fire features need light, routine care. Keep leaves, debris and snow off the burner and fire media, cover the insert between uses if it came with a cover, and follow the manufacturer’s guidance for seasonal checks.
Wood asks for more regular attention. Ash comes out between fires, firewood needs a dry spot away from the house, and the masonry around the fire bowl darkens with soot over time. Buying firewood locally is a good habit here, since firewood moved long distances can carry invasive insects. The design should also let rain and snowmelt drain from the fire bowl, so water has nowhere to sit and freeze.
The patio around any fire feature faces the same freeze-thaw cycles as the rest of the hardscape, and our comparison of paver and concrete patios in Wisconsin covers how each surface holds up.
Check your local burning rules
Rules for backyard fires vary across Northeast Wisconsin communities, so check your municipality’s open-burning rules before you settle on wood. Requirements for recreational fires can cover distance from buildings and property lines, what you are allowed to burn, and restrictions during dry or windy weather. Ask how your community treats gas fire features too.
Why Some Backyards Have Both
On a larger property, the answer can be two fire features with different jobs. Our project, Modern Getaway, in Appleton has a wood-burning fire pit with a flagstone patio and a built-in rectangular fire table with custom stone sit-walls, giving the patio two separate reasons to linger. The same property includes a two-story timberframe pavilion, a 35-foot fiberglass pool and hot tub, and a covered outdoor kitchen.
Our project, Contemporary Getaway, in Green Bay brings wood and gas together another way. A built-in outdoor kitchen with a wood-fired pizza oven serves as the patio’s gathering point, and a rectangular gas fire table extends the season at the other end of the space.
Two fires work well when each has a clear role: a gas fire table near the pool or kitchen for quick, everyday evenings, and a wood-burning fire pit farther out for long nights when building the fire is the point. Our guide to planning a complete outdoor living space in Wisconsin shows how fire features fit with the rest of the backyard, and our project gallery has more examples from across Northeast Wisconsin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a gas or wood fire pit better for a Wisconsin backyard?
It depends on how you want to use it. Gas suits frequent, spontaneous use: it lights with a switch, burns clean and turns off when you are done. Wood suits slower evenings built around the fire, with the crackle, the smell of woodsmoke and strong heat once it gets going. Some larger backyards include both.
Can a fire feature go near a pool?
Yes, with the right type and placement. A gas fire table can sit close to a pool deck because it produces no ash and very little smoke. A wood-burning fire pit usually works best a comfortable distance from the water, which keeps smoke off the deck and ash out of the pool.
Do I need a gas line for a fire table?
A built-in gas fire table is typically connected to a natural gas line. The line runs underground and beneath the patio, so it is best planned at the design stage, before the base and pavers go in. If the plan includes an outdoor kitchen with a gas grill, the gas service for both can be planned together.
Are wood-burning fire pits allowed in my community?
Rules for recreational fires vary by municipality, so check your community’s open-burning rules before choosing wood. Requirements can cover distance from buildings and property lines, what you can burn, and restrictions during dry or windy weather.
Whether you are picturing a gas fire table beside the pool or a wood-burning fire pit at the edge of the yard, our team would be glad to help you plan it. We design and build fire features in Green Bay, Appleton, Neenah, Oshkosh, Menasha, Fond du Lac and nearby communities. Contact us to start the conversation.