The completed Mill Creek project in Magnolia, Texas — a multi-gable patio cover with exposed timber trusses and a white pergola behind a sunken fire pit ringed by Adirondack chairs on a raised retaining wall terrace

19 / Fire

Houston Fire Pit and Outdoor Fireplace Design and Build

A fireplace is the thing a seating area gets arranged around, and the firebox, throat, and flue have to be built to proportion or it smokes back at you. Gas, wood, or both, it is masonry work with a chimney rather than a decorative surround.

01 — Scope

What’s included in the work.

Every project has the same core scope, adapted to the specific property and program.

01
Siting & Seating
Position set for draw, prevailing wind, and the seating it exists to serve, at a safe distance from the structure.
02
Footing & Structure
Reinforced footing and a block or steel carcass sized for the mass of masonry going on top of it.
03
Firebox & Flue
Firebox, throat, damper, and flue built to proportion so it drafts instead of smoking into the patio.
04
Fuel & Ignition
Gas line, log set, burner, and ignition installed, or a wood-burning box detailed with somewhere to keep the wood.
05
Facing & Hearth
Stone, brick, tile, or stucco facing with a cut hearth, mantel, and cap detailed to match the house.
06
Fire Pits & Bowls
Freestanding or built-in pits, bowls, and fire tables plumbed and finished where a full fireplace is more than the yard needs.

02 — Craft

Everything you see.
Everything you don’t.

What separates a landscape that lasts from one that fails in two summers is the work you never see — grade, drainage, soil preparation, and compacted base. On Houston clay, that is most of the job.

And what you do see — the joint lines, the bed edges, the level of a terrace against the house — we hold to the same standard.

03 — Investment

Roughly what it costs.

The range below is what work of this kind typically runs in Houston, so you can place yourself in it before you call. It is a starting point, not a quote — every project is scoped to the specific property, program, and material selections.

We confirm a clear investment range in the initial consultation and issue a detailed proposal after the design phase.

What moves the number

A fire pit or bowl, against a full fireplace with a flue
Height and mass of masonry, and the footing it has to sit on
Facing material — stone, brick, tile, or stucco
Fuel — a gas line and ignition, wood-burning, or both
Hearth, mantel, cap, and any seating built around it

Typical investment

$8,000 – $35,000

Most projects of this type

$4,000 – $9,000for a built-in fire pit or fire table

At the lower end: A gas fire pit or built-in fire table on a reinforced pad, faced to match the paving around it.
At the upper end: A full masonry fireplace with a proportioned firebox and flue, stone facing, a cut hearth and mantel, and wood storage built in.

A range, not a quote. Your figure depends on square footage, materials, how much grading and drainage the site needs, and equipment access.

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