How Big Should a Fire Pit Be? Size by Seating, Patio and Clearance

A fire pit should be small enough to leave room around it for the seats and for the clearance in its manual. HPC puts seats typically 36 to 42 inches from the flame edge, so a 36 inch pit with chairs on two opposite sides needs 108 to 120 inches of patio before the chairs themselves. The makers I checked sell gas fire bowls from 29 to 70 inches across and tables up to 110 inches long, so measure the space first and fit the pit into what remains.

Every input below is a maker's published dimension or a distance from a maker's manual or guidance, and the arithmetic is shown. Where makers disagree, I say so, and where none publishes a number, I leave it out.

Common Fire Pit Sizes

These are the dimensions makers print for finished gas pieces. Input is the burner rating the maker lists, in Btu/h.

Sources: Prism Tavola, Prism Moderno, Firegear Sanctuary 2 and Sanctuary 1 manual, The Outdoor Plus Harbor, Cabo and Florence, Outdoor GreatRoom, American Fyre Designs catalog, Bull.

Narrow tables exist for tight spaces. Prism's Tavola 72 Narrow is 24 by 72 inches, and Prism describes it as suited to opposing bench seating. Its 66 Slim is 30 by 66. Footprint and burner are separate choices: HPC sells round bowl inserts in 13, 19, 25, 31, 37 and 43 inches for people building their own pit around them.

Wood fire pits run in a similar range but are made for a different fire. Ohio Flame's Patriot steel pits are 24 to 48 inches across and 12.25 to 22 inches high. HPC says wood fire features should be bigger than gas ones, to give a wood fire room to build embers.

How Far Should Seating Be From a Fire Pit?

Makers give a comfort distance and a safety minimum, and they are different numbers.

For comfort, HPC says seating is typically 36 to 42 inches from the flame edge for residential installs, and that a larger fire feature may need a different distance. It also says to keep at least 36 inches clear around traffic paths so guests don't walk through the heat. Its older dealer newsletter says to allow 3 feet of clear space around furniture. Firegear's blog says to reserve 36 inches around the appliance so people don't feel too close to the flames. Outdoor GreatRoom says walkways around the appliance should not be restricted by the installation.

For safety, each manual sets a clearance to combustibles. The Outdoor Plus manual says clothing and other flammable materials should not be placed on or near the fire bowl, and HPC's says the same of loose clothing. Cushions and throws are flammable materials, so keep them outside the distance.

Sources: The Outdoor Plus, HPC, Prism, Firegear Pro H, Firegear Sanctuary, Outdoor GreatRoom.

The spread is wide, from 16 inches to 48, so your own manual governs. The clearance checker lists more of them by input, and the guide to distance from the house covers walls and eaves. Your local authority has the last word.

Two cautions about seating. HPC's and The Outdoor Plus's manuals both say not to use the enclosure as a seating area, even though HPC's older newsletter describes ledges for sitting on masonry pits. Follow the manual. HPC's newsletter also says a pit taller than 18 to 20 inches holds the heat in and makes the fire harder to enjoy from chairs.

How Many People Fit Around a Fire Pit?

No maker I read publishes seats per diameter. What they say is general. Firegear calls its 39 inch Sanctuary bowl large enough for several people, and its smaller one, 29 inches, suited to a family of three to five. HPC says to make a fire feature up to 6 feet wide for frequent groups, with about 6 feet more on all sides for guests to move, and to go down to about 3 feet wide for two.

You can work out a count for your own chairs. The ring of seats sits at the pit's radius plus the distance to the seats. This table measures HPC's 36 to 42 inches from the pit's outer edge to the front of the seats. HPC measures from the flame edge, which usually sits inside the rim, so these rings run slightly large and the counts are an upper bound.

Divide the ring by the arc each of your chairs takes, measured from the actual furniture. As an example only, chairs that each take 40 inches of arc would put about 8 around a 36 inch pit at 36 inches. A rectangular table seats along its long sides, so use its length instead.

What Size Fire Pit for a 12 by 12 Patio?

A 12 foot square is 144 inches. Seats on opposite sides, each 36 to 42 inches from the flame edge, take 72 to 84 inches before a chair is counted. That leaves 60 to 72 inches for the pit and both chair depths. A 36 inch pit leaves 24 to 36 inches for the two chair depths together, so measure your chairs before you commit. On a patio that size, seat two or three sides, or choose a smaller pit.

The clearance in the manual caps the pit as well, if combustibles or structures stand at the patio's edge. Prism's 4 foot rule on both sides leaves a centered pit at most 48 inches wide in 144 inches (144 minus 96). The Outdoor Plus's 36 inch tier allows 72 inches.

Outdoor GreatRoom gives a maker's example for a 10 by 10 patio with chairs and a side table or two. It suggests something smaller or midsized, a 29 inch bowl or a 32 by 20 inch rectangle, or a 42 to 44 inch pit, and a larger table for a large space with a sectional, pool or outdoor kitchen. That is one maker's advice and not a standard.

Can a Fire Pit Be Too Big?

Yes, and the documents show how. Firegear says a larger pit needs more gas or propane and more fire media. The Outdoor Plus moves side clearance from 36 to 48 inches above 65,000 Btu/h and allows no overhead structures from 201,000 to 400,000. HPC says seating distance may need adjusting for a larger fire feature.

Size and flame are different things. In its GFRC Moderno series, Prism pairs a 15 inch cross burner with the 30, 36 and 39 inch bowls, and an 18 inch one with the 48 inch bowl. Outdoor GreatRoom lists 55,000 Btu/h on tables from 31.5 to 50 inches across. A bigger pit gives you more surface and a bigger footprint. It doesn't promise more flame, and its warmth reaches only the nearest seats, as the heat guide explains.

To check input against supply, read the BTU ratings guide. To size the media for the pan, use the fire glass calculator. If warmth for the seating area is the goal, a heater is sized by area in the BTU calculator.

Fire Pit Table Height: Chat, Dining and Bar

Table height is the second size decision, and the labels aren't standard. These are the heights makers publish, grouped by the label the maker uses where it uses one.

One maker's chat height is another's mid height. Outdoor GreatRoom labels both a 20 inch Kenwood and a 26.63 inch Beacon as chat height. Treat the labels loosely and check the inches.

Pick the height by what you will do at the table. Outdoor GreatRoom says chat height invites guests to sit around the fire and relax, and that its dining height Kenwood can double as a dining table. American Fyre Designs says its firetables have adjustable flame height for comfortable dining. Match the height to the seats you own, and measure them. On warmth, HPC says a pit taller than 18 to 20 inches holds the heat in, and Firegear says only to get a good height if you want warmth. Neither gives a measurement, so don't pay for height as a heating feature.

Before You Buy

• Measure the patio, and subtract your manual's clearance on each side.
• Add the seat distance, 36 to 42 inches per HPC, and the depth of your own chairs.
• Check the input against your gas line or cylinder, and the clearance tier for that input.
• Check weight against the surface. Prism lists 205 pounds for the Tavola 1, and 650 pounds for the Tavola 5 and the Moderno 70. A deck is a separate question, covered in the deck guide.
• Look up your state and city rules, starting with the code library.

Call a licensed gas fitter for any gas line and check your local code and the installation manual for the unit you buy. We don't sell any of the brands named here yet. Every figure above comes from the maker's own document, linked where it appears.