on June 06, 2008 at 5:00 PM Building a backyard fire is an age-old smoke signal that it's time to relax, spend an evening with friends and maybe roast some snacks. There's no need to travel to a rustic setting. And you don't have to burn holes in your lawn. Backyard fire pits come in a lot of hot designs, from simple stone creations to elaborate setups made of granite. Such fire pits are usually about a foot deep and surrounded by boulders or flat stones. Outdoor fireplaces and chimeneas also come in an assortment of shapes and materials, from clay to copper to cast iron. All of these fire containers should be located at least 10 feet - in every direction - away from flammable surfaces such as wood structures, decks and trees, says Cecile Green, who owns Heart and Soul Ecological Landscaping and Natural Building in Ann Arbor with her husband, Daniel Little. "Once a year I'll take ashes out of the central pit area, but other than that there is no upkeep," Green says.
If you decide to place a fire container on your deck, put it on a heat-resistant pad, says Eric Barnes, owner of Ace Hardware in Ann Arbor. And keep a bucket of water or a hose nearby in case the fire gets out of hand. Safety screens can help keep your fire from growing out of control. A snuffer pan, a metal plate that goes over the top of the fire, provides convenience, allowing you to quickly put out the fire when it's time to go inside instead of waiting for all of the embers to die out. Grates are another important accessory, because they can turn your fire pit or chimenea into an instant grill. Choosing the right size of container is important, Barnes says. Remember, he adds, bigger fire containers hold larger pieces of wood. Smaller chimeneas and fire pits will require you to chop wood into smaller pieces. Chimeneas are the most popular way to build backyard fires, Green says. "It's fabulous to eat food cooked over real wood," she says. "You get your stick out and grill a s'more.
Fire lovers who want a quick, easy and mess-free route can choose a gas-powered fire pit. "They're more of a permanent fire that come with logs and are just like gas grills," Barnes says. Since gazing at the flames is a key element of sitting by an open fire, a lot of people go for jazzy styles. Barnes says the most popular fire containers at his store are metal ones with moon and star shapes cut into them. Even your plants and outdoor decor near the fire can take part in the light show and drama created by the flickering flames. Certain plants, like ornamental grasses or anything with a glossy leaf, can catch and refract the light, Green says. Mobile objects, crystals and anything that sways with the wind can get into the act, too. "They catch the light and toss it back at you," Green says.We're sorry, we couldn't find the page you're looking for. How can we help? Fireplace Gallery has installed tons of outdoor fireplaces, and Firepits in West Michigan. We in West Michigan love our summers and want to “extend” the outdoor season as much as we can.
Being around a fire, in the Spring and Fall, can make a Michigan summer last longer. We can remodel an existing landscape and add warming fire, or work with your builder to make your outside patio come alive! We can take a traditional fireplace and turn it into something stunning, with fire glass, or other media in the fire! This is a job, recently completed in Southwest Michigan area. It has 23 feet of fire! Proud to Serve West Michigan We serve the entire West Michigan area for your Fireplace and Stove needs, including Grand Rapids and all surrounding towns, such as Rockford, Ada, East Grand Rapids, Cascade, Caledonia, Byron Center, Zeeland, Holland, Saugatuck, Allegan, South Haven, Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Coopersville, Muskegon, Whitehall, and more!To the 3 firemen at the Kalamazoo and 28th street Meijer this morning around 9:45am... you made my daughters day, and possibly her whole month. You guys were wa Sam Grissom for coming to my rescue on Tuesday September 27th.
I stranded my boat on some rocks and after 45 mi has been having a lot of anxiety about our house catching fire and th! I miss working with Larry SybesmaI need help!...I have a proven record with kids a . I spent a week in Walker Michigan visiting family, and stopped by the Grand Rapids FireWest Michigan's Entertainment Guide The Great Outdoors: How to Eat Fly Under the West Michigan Sky I will admit upfront that the appeal of al fresco dining is mostly lost on me. Eating outside sounds like a treat until you’re really in the thick of things. “Oh, there’s room for us on the deck? Ten minutes later, I’m wiping sweat off my forehead, shooing insects away from drinks and chasing after a menu stolen by the wind. Meanwhile, the nether-worldly sound of a downshifting semi-truck is drowning out all conversation. Insulation from such discomforts, I thought, was built into the cost of a restaurant meal. But alas, it’s summer, and people want to eat outdoors for god-knows-what reason.
Fortunately, the apparently endless expansion of restaurant options in our region has actually made the prospect of dining outside not only tolerable, but, dare I say, sometimes preferable. Even an avid indoorsman such as myself likes to consume the occasional meal without removing his sunglasses, and West Michigan presents a wide variety of ways to accomplish this.* So slather some sunscreen on that bald spot and join us outside at the following locations. With a whole lot of money and nothing better to do, one could easily spend an afternoon hopping through the outdoor eating areas of Wealthy Street SE’s 600-700 blocks. There are the leafy confines of The Winchester’s veranda-like outdoor section, the roomy and rustic picnic-table area outside Elk Brewing, and the sunny, round patio of Jonny B’z new location. But if you can only do one, make a taco run to Donkey, whose outside seating is abundant and accented with nighttime lights that approximate a Brooklyn rooftop party (at least in my imagination).
The bustling Cherry Hill district offers a similar range of options for the outdoor eater, from the cozy, well-to-do front patio at Grove, to the wide, sun-drenched spaces connecting Brewery Vivant and Maru Sushi, to the quaint little space behind Furniture City Creamery and the streetside tables of Marie Catrib’s. Among these, I slightly favor the patio alongside the Green Well, which, while pretty on its own, is rendered even more appealing by its proximity to the well-landscaped lawns of the Inner City Christian Federation. It doesn’t get much more postcard-picturesque than the view from this gem’s deck on the shore of Reed’s Lake. Rose’s, along with its sturdy menu of upscale entrees and wood-fired pizzas, offers year-round ambience that’s unrivaled by any restaurant not requiring a trip to the Lake Michigan shore. Graydon’s is a standout on several fronts. Its outdoor beer garden is large, barricaded from street noise by a wall and vegetation, partly protected from the elements and viewable from another outdoor deck upstairs.
The garden is also built around a large tree, an aesthetic bonus for patrons who like to spice up their British Empire-derived cuisine with a bit of Swiss Family Robinson. Founders is like the dragons in Game of Thrones — given unlimited space, it will never stop growing. One of the highlights of the mega-brewer’s Grandville Avenue location — other than the majestic sight of All Day IPA pallets stacked to the rafters in the production area — is the comprehensiveness of its outdoor eating/drinking experience. If you prefer shade, there’s an elevated area that’s covered. If it’s cold, there are fire pits. Otherwise, there’s a small outdoor bar and marble-topped tables for the merry consumption of sandwiches. Terms like “big-city feel” are often used to promote hip dining spots, as if pretending you’re in a larger city has any effect on how the food tastes. But the rooftop deck shared by these twin South Division eateries actually earns the description. Considering the pace of change happening to the downtown skyline, patrons can literally watch the city grow around them as they enjoy the menu of small plates, sushi rolls and sandwiches.
File under “fairly well kept secret.” The patio adjacent to one of Grand Rapids’ oldest bars is easy to miss — after all, it’s basically just a handful of tiny tables in the well-shaded alley between Cottage and its neighbor, One Trick Pony. But if you can nab an outdoor spot on an excursion for one of Cottage’s famous burgers, there’s no better place downtown to pass a couple of hours on a summer night. Like a West Michigan culinary Manifest Destiny, the 10-year-old Holland restaurant is as far west as you can go without sliding into Lake Michigan. Put a trip to Boatwerks’ waterfront deck on your sunset bucket list. The menu is pizza, burgers and no-nonsense Americana. Features a spacious deck facing the titular body of water. Come hungry for pizza, burgers and live outdoor music, a regular warm-weather feature. Watch the boats come and go and ponder the passage of time from the deck of this downtown Grand Haven seafood restaurant, which faces the Grand River near its mouth.