When designing the landscape of a summer cottage, as an alternative to a home fireplace or smokehouse, designers advise using a fireplace or a bonfire. And if earlier only some summer residents could afford it, today such a "street hearth" can be organized at the dacha by anyone. What are the advantages of a bonfire in landscape design, and what materials you will need to make it yourself - find out from the article.

Advantages and disadvantages of a fireplace in landscape design

Thinking over the design and style of the summer cottage, everyone wants to get the most comfortable, multifunctional and practical place where it would be nice to rest all family members. Therefore, when designing a project, experts advise to think in advance about the place for installing a fireplace. This element of the landscape is mandatory if the family likes to spend time outdoors, cook delicious and healthy dishes on the fire.

• The fireplace has a lot of advantages, because it:
• can be used as a home fireplace, barbecue or barbecue;
• successfully and harmoniously fits into the exterior;
• allows you to refine the territory;
• solves the issue of recycling plant debris.

One of the main aspects in the application of a bonfire in design is its proper installation and the selection of a suitable place. Smoke coming from the hearth should not interfere with both domestic inhabitants and neighbors. In addition, it is very important to observe safety precautions and to place a fire away from residential or commercial buildings. And, of course, it is necessary to mount a fireplace, at least 4 m from the green spaces.

The street hearth is gaining more and more popularity every year. Its use in landscape design has practically no drawbacks, as each owner of the dacha wants to create and equip a decorative recreation area and admire the fire. The disadvantages of installing a bonfire are associated only with the non-observance of the safety rules for the installation of the object and the wrong choice of place for it.

Did you know? Surprisingly, hot water extinguishes a fire much faster and more efficiently than cold water.

How to choose the right place for the fireplace

As noted above, choosing the right place for the fireplace is not only to solve the issue of aesthetics and style, but also to observe your own safety and the safety of people living in the neighborhood.

The place where the installation of the outdoor fireplace is planned must comply with fire safety requirements, namely:

1. Remoteness from buildings and green spaces. The future outbreak should be located at a distance of not less than 3-4 m from residential and household buildings, and not less than 4 m from fire-hazardous vegetation, trees, shrubs, and weeping crops.
2. Wind direction. It is advisable to build a fireplace taking into account the direction of the prevailing winds in the area. It is very important that the smoke does not spread towards the neighboring buildings, does not "reach" the habitats of pets or birds.
3. Remoteness from the boundary. It is forbidden to organize a hearth in the immediate vicinity of the neighboring boundary or fence separating the site from the street. It is also impossible to install a fireplace in an elevated place.

The most suitable place for arranging a bonfire is considered to be a flat, spacious, not too deep and not located on a hill, a windless area, remote from any buildings and green spaces. Ideally, if there is a pond, an artificial pond, or just a reservoir of water close to the cottage.

Important! It is strictly forbidden to mount a home near the storage areas for combustible substances, gas cylinders, paints and varnishes or household chemicals.

Types of fireplace for landscaping

Landscape designers offer a large selection of summer campfires.

All of them can be divided into three categories:

• open;
• closed;
• in-depth.

The simplest construction has an open fireplace. It is a "nest" of a flat shape, made of a sheet of metal or metal gadfly, lined with stones, refractory bricks, cobblestones, etc. To build a hearth in the ground, make a small 10-centimeter indentation with a diameter of about 1 m and, after leveling the ground , in the middle they mount a steel rim obtained from an old metal barrel or boiler. The bonfire wall is erected by means of stones, ceramic tiles, cinder blocks.The gap between the steel rim and the decorative wall is covered with sand. Also very popular is the hearth made of two sheets of corrugated iron, which are twisted into rings of different diameters and are installed one into the other so that the midpoints coincide. Closed fires - Models with high sides can be built in the form of a well, a Russian stove, or even an oriental style tandoor.In-depth type of decorative hearth involves the creation of a special depression in the ground, which is located significantly below the level of the suburban area. Each summer resident chooses the diameter of such a hole on their own, based on their own wishes, but the depth is usually about 40-50 cm. A small layer of gravel or crushed stone is laid at the bottom of the cavity, and the walls are erected using brick and clay mortar. The edges of the fireplace are laid with paving tiles or decorative stone.

In addition, country fires can be divided:

• in shape: round and square;
• on the complexity of manufacturing: simple and complex;
• by material: stone (stationary), metal (portable);
• according to the functional purpose: separate or combined with the barbecue area, gazebo.

How to make a fireplace in landscape design with stones at the gazebo with your own hands

A decorative hearth in the country is a key element of the recreation area, which combines aesthetics and practicality. Despite the apparent complexity of its design, making it with your own hands is not difficult. This will require: preparatory drawings, some building materials and a huge desire.

Necessary materials

The arrangement of a stone site under a fire requires the preparation of some building materials:

• M100 brand concrete, in the absence of concrete, cement, crushed stone and sand can be used;
• natural stone of large and small sizes;
• wooden or steel pegs.

Of the tools in the process, you will need: a shovel, tape measure, fishing line or string.

Construction algorithm

Before embarking on the construction work, it is necessary to determine the drawing of the future hearth, which will allow you to calculate the required amount of materials. By means of a measuring device, fishing line and string, the markings should be transferred to a previously prepared place for the future bonfire. During the procedure, all important points are marked with pegs.

Important! Experts do not recommend the use of shell rock or limestone to erect a bowl of the hearth. Such materials have the ability to absorb moisture, which leads to the rapid destruction of the bonfire.

When the marking is applied, you can proceed to the construction of the frame:

1. Dig a recess to the desired size.
2. The concrete mortar is mixed from: 15 kg of cement, 35 kg of crushed stone and 45 kg of sand.
3. The composition is poured into the pit so that it forms a 10 cm layer on the surface.
4. Pegs make several holes in the concrete layer, which subsequently will allow moisture to not stagnate.
5. Spread the chimney bowl with the help of large and small stones, fastening them with cement mortar.
6. After the concrete structure hardens, the gaps between the bowl and the outer wall are covered with soil.
7. Around the fireplace, a blind area 10-15 cm high is made: a layer of concrete is poured around the circumference of the hearth, then flat stones (boulders) of approximately the same size are embedded in it.

Lighting installation

Making a cottage for a campfire is only one of the stages of arranging a site. It is very important to make its location cozy, comfortable, practical for all family members and guests.

Around the fireplace, designers advise installing additional lighting or arranging solar-powered street lights. During dusk or at night, such lighting will not only allow you to orientate yourself in space and continue your vacation, but also create a festive, warm and cozy atmosphere.

Drovnik, canopies and other elements

The installation of the woodcutter, a decorative device for the orderly storage of firewood, allows you to decorate the area near the fire. Its organization allows you to solve two problems at once: practical, because now you do not have to go far for wood raw materials, and aesthetic, since a neatly stacked stack of firewood looks attractive and original. Some summer residents over the fireplace mount canopies from rain or the scorching sun.Such a device has the right to be, however, in terms of functionality and security, it is not entirely appropriate. The fact is that rest in the rain, even if it is under a canopy, will not bring much pleasure. And if you cover the hearth itself, then you have to hatch smoke in a club, which is not only not comfortable, but also dangerous. At the same time, the hinged web itself will be smoked, which does not comply with fire safety standards.

Did you know? When burning various chemicals, the color of the fire changes. So, for example, aluminum gives a white flame, wood - an orange, carbon - blue, potassium - purple-pink, calcium - red.

Decoration

In order for the place of the cottage hearth to be transformed into a real artistic masterpiece, it can be decorated with various objects, garden furniture, small art and architectural forms. An excellent addition to the exterior will be chairs and benches, which should be placed around the bonfire. For convenience and beauty, you can cover furniture with pillows and bedspreads.An unusual option for arranging a resting place will be a circular bench with backs, complemented by rugs and rugs. The original "chip" of the site can be various decorative figures. It can be either single characters or entire ensembles of heroes of fairy tales, animated films, legends. You can lay out a beautiful path to the cottage, made in the same style as the fireplace itself.

Any summer resident, even without the skills of a designer, is able to equip a fireplace in his own area with his own hands. The main thing is to prepare the necessary building materials, make competent drawings, and erect a fire in accordance with all fire safety rules. A similar, self-constructed place for fire quite often becomes a key element in the country house and an object of great pride of its owner.