Patio Advice

We put in a stamped concrete patio last year. Our covid delayed furniture showed up at the end of summer. 10’ x 7’ sectional, dining table for 6 seating and some end tables.

So, now the gal is looking at a propane fire table and/or a giant umbrella. Does anyone have experience with these? Its a new development with little tree shade, so it would be nice, but its super windy here too. On several occasions the wind pushes the grill around!

Do folks use fire tables? 13’ umbrella too big? too cumbersome? will they rip and tear in the wind or are more expensive ones durable enough for some wind?

Thanks!

Dave,
I have a wine barrel gas fireplace at the cabin and it works well even when it’s a bit windy.
Gotta few umbrellas also but no 13’ers.
I bolt the bases down and that works well. The umbrellas themselves could probably handle the wind. And if it’s that windy you’re probably gonna shut her down anyways

I’ve had shade umbrellas get completely mangled by high winds. Make sure you shut them so they aren’t open when that big gust comes though.

We had a 12’ umbrella for awhile. I didn’t want to bolt it to the patio so I poured a footing for it with studs in the footing. It had like a 6”x6” base with 4 bolt holes. It was just adjacent to the patio…we never had any issues.

We have 2 propane heaters like this…they are nice but don’t produce great heat. I think a table would be a better option. When we bought last year it was tough to find patio heaters. Not sure if that’s still the case.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-42-000-BTU-Gold-Gas-Patio-Heater-GSH-A-PC/305876308?g_store=2845&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_020_FIRE-MULTI-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP&cm_mmc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_020_FIRE-MULTI-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP-71700000090520830-58700007651781816-92700069190465611&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmf_HHg-ssdlLqhim_mccDVQ0no4xS8HVPLzPys0ybq3xG9pSRJrryRRoC2fkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Have both… fire table worked for years until it didn’t… did the youtube repair on the pilot, works again. As far as umbrellas, just put them down when not in use.. typically last about 6 or 7 seasons then get faded and brittle. Enjoy the new patio !!

We have a propane fire table. Mid-value model and we used blue dragon glass instead of the rock or lava stone. It throws off some heat, but not the same as a roaring wood fire.

The propane fire table is nice when you have a few friends or a few couples over for an evening of conversation and drinks.

We had one of the big umbrellas, even had a solar charger and lights underneath. Worked well, but they have to be anchored well, the little plastic things you fill with sand and put around the base are worthless.

Putting up a pergola might be a good idea if you can configure it to block most of the sun. It wont get destroyed by wind.

I bought a fire table for the FW last Mother’s Day. We really like it. It’s nice to be able to just turn it on for 30 minutes if you want to sit out for a game of cribbage and a night cap. Also, no bonfire stench.

It’s not the same as a wood fire, but we like it.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Putting up a pergola might be a good idea if you can configure it to block most of the sun. It wont get destroyed by wind.

That is what she REALLY wants, but the big umbrella will be for 5-7 years until we get around to the pergola. Who has two thumbs and wants his basement wet bar and pool table first???? This guy

We have a propane fire pit and as others have said, they put off a little heat but not like a real fire. My kids and myself are allergic to smoke so love the fire pit vs the real fire but would get another one in a heartbeat. I personally wouldn’t get an umbrella where we are because of the wind. They are always blowing over and breaking something.

Have 2 of these… fill the base with water… its going nowhere.

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DaveB wrote:

Who has two thumbs and wants his basement wet bar and pool table first???? This guy

You have your priorities in the right order sir.

We have a few gas fire tables of varying sizes (gazebo, patio, and dock), and they are awesome for those half hour/hour sits when you don’t want to track down the kindling. I bet we use ours five nights a week in the summer, compared to five wood-burning fires in a month. We just bought this one for the patio a month ago, it’s a beast:

https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/fire-pits-outdoor-heating/backyard-creations-reg-timbercrest-36-propane-gas-fire-pit-table/2020-f0102/p-1841405560698599-c-12918.htm?tid=2378819740460694026&ipos=7

While they don’t replace the real thing, we like adding a ceramic log kit to the rocks to give ’em a better vibe, seems to also help the flames climb a bit higher, but that might just be in my head. You can find a few varieties for ~$60 on Amazon.

If you have anchor points a triangle or square wing does better with lots of wind. We love our deck gas firepit for the simplicity. If you add more lava rocks to them they throw off more heat once they warm up.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Dave,
I have a wine barrel gas fireplace at the cabin and it works well even when it’s a bit windy.
Gotta few umbrellas also but no 13’ers.
I bolt the bases down and that works well. The umbrellas themselves could probably handle the wind. And if it’s that windy you’re probably gonna shut her down anyways

Would like to see a pic of the wine barrel fireplace! I’m building a wire spool top on a wine barrel base and have another barrel that would work for this application.

https://winecountryaccents.com/wine-barrel-fire-pit-enthusiast-vine-de-flame.html

Still need to find a 20lb horizonal propane tank, but the good thing about not ice fishing much is having a bunch of 1 lb tanks left over.

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had a umberlla on the back deck but it was never set correct so we went with a sunsetter awning. should be much better. (IF IT EVER WARMS UP).