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Backyard Fireplace Ideas That Can Be Created with Stacked Stone

If you’re looking for a way to enhance your backyard, you might have already thought about adding a fireplace. After all, what better way to make your outdoor living space a little more ‘liveable’ throughout the year?

Building a fireplace for outdoor use is a great idea. However, the idea can be made even greater with the use of stacked stone veneers from GenStone. Using faux stone as part of an outdoor fireplace build can result in a rugged-looking-yet-elegant aesthetic that goes great with your existing landscaping and outdoor decor.

How exactly can you use GenStone products to achieve this? We’re glad you asked! In this article, the faux stone experts at GenStone are giving you a few fresh ideas you can use to build the outdoor fireplace environment that everyone will want to be around. All it takes is some GenStone materials, a little handiwork, and just a touch of know-how (which we can help you with).

Idea #1: In-Ground Fire Pit with Faux Stone Retaining Walls

Our first idea is also the most ambitious! But, we think it has some real potential for homeowners who want a dramatic outdoor fireplace that invites people to come on over, grab a few marshmallows, and enjoy an evening by the fire.

For this idea, you’ll need to get digging. Grab some shovels and dig a square, pentagonal, or similar flat-sided polygon shape, at least 3 feel in depth. You’ll want to reserve enough room for the firepit/fireplace itself, so factor in at least 3-4 feet for that feature, alone. A safe bet for hole width would be 10-12 feet, at least.

When digging, ensure that the walls of your hole are as close to vertical as you can get them. This will be important when the time comes to install the GenStone faux stone.

Step two for this project is to retain the edges of the hole with the outdoor-grade support of your choice. Use treated pine or hardwood to create a solid foundation for the surface that your GenStone faux stone will be installed onto. Another alternative would be to use concrete ‘sleepers’ to accomplish this, however this option is a bit more expensive and time-consuming.

Next, it’s time to install your GenStone faux stone! Following our installation guidelines, carefully line the interior walls of your hole, making sure to cut-to-size the panels needed for adequate coverage.

outdoor stone fireplace

Idea #2: Columnar Faux-Stone ‘Fire Barrel'

For this outdoor fireplace idea, You’ll need to use the treated wood of your choice to anchor four points into the ground, forming a square that is 4-6 feet in width.

The height of your new fireplace is up to you, but we recommend at least 2-4 feet, which translates into two to four faux stone panels high (one GenStone panel for every 12” of column height) and two to three faux stone panels wide, per square column face.

After you’ve determined how large you want your supporting structure to be, install treated pine or hardwood planks around the exterior of the frame. These will be the surfaces you’ll use to screw in your GenStone faux stone.

Lastly, fill in the center of the ‘fire barrel’ with fill dirt. The top-most layer can be small-to-medium-sized pea gravel or even larger round stones that match the color of your selected GenStone panels.

That’s it! You’ve done it. A faux stone-flanked square-shaped fire barrel can be easily constructed in just a single weekend—maybe even faster!

What Will You Create with GenStone?

The best thing about GenStone stacked stone products are their versatility. Using some imagination, it’s possible to create the outdoor fireplace of your dreams, complete with the natural look of real stone but without the real stone cost, labor, and time investment.

Remember that GenStone faux stone products are exceptionally durable, but they are not fireproof. Our stacked stone and faux brick panels are composed using polyurethane, making them incredibly resilient yet still susceptible to melting at high temperatures.

faux stone outdoor fireplace

With this being said, we don’t recommend installing GenStone panels within three feet of the open flame section of a fireplace—whether indoors or outdoors.

If you’re worried about keeping your faux stone panels clean, don’t be! GenStone paneling material is easy to clean with a quick spray of the garden hose. It does not rust, rot, or blemish like other surfaces, a feature that homeowners absolutely love!

After you complete your faux stone outdoor fireplace project, don’t forget to snap a picture of it and send it to us for inclusion on our projects page!