Alicate, I live in an area where evenings are often not only chilly but windy as well. I love the outdoors and convincing my husband to sit outside and relax with a glass of wine at the end of the day has always been difficult because of the chill. I thought a fire pit would be a solution and bought a portable one thinking I could use it at different seating locations on our property. What I quickly learned was it burnt and killed the grass below and the smoke from the fire pit was always blowing relentlessly at someone no matter how many times we rearranged our seating. Having given up on the fire pit I was thrilled when I saw a relative had solved the smoke issue by using an old pot belly stove (American chiminea) they had found in their tool shed. It didn't take me too long before I found and dragged home an old rusty pb stove that did a great job keeping us warm but admittedly was an ugly beast that didn't quite fit in with the patio furniture or even the Adirondack lawn chairs, so as we are replacing out of necessity our old patio we are adding a fireplace...now if this doesnÂt work I suppose I will have to learn to drink my wine in front of the tv. Personally I would suggest that you don't locate your fire pit close to your deck and house as frankly the last thing you want is smoke being drafted into an open house window. I also think that the fire pit is a destination wouldn't it be nice if you had not only a patio area where people liked to gather but the fire pit area as well. The seating for the fire pit will come over time don't base your decision on where your picnic table is. Katy

I do far more grilling than barbecuing. I grill pork chops, steaks, burgers, vegetables on a skewer and marinated shrimp on a skewer and sometimes ears of corn. I used to have a smoker and smoked roasts and turkeys. A leg broke off the smoker a few years ago and I never replaced it. The past few years the only time I have used barbecue sauce is to cook things in a crockpot such as chicken breasts, pork ribs, meatballs and kiebalsa ( sp?) I do not poke the food with a fork, nor do I smash hamburgers with a spatula. ( your other thread ) I use tongs to turn them when needed. Angela, I feel the way you do about watching people stabbing the food on the grill with a fork. I can't stand it!!!! Linda

Do you prefer the smooth finish or textured? My general thought is if you are planning to be there for awhile do what you like. Any new owner will likely able to tell on aging that you added the outdoor space and it is a nice selling point anyway. The pavers and landscaping will make it feel update so I think for the fire pit/BBQ do what you like.

The counter in front of the; grill, egg, burner is often not used. Too hot, Smokey, grill cover up, for people to gather. Can you do a square U with the cook station at the bottom. Seating on the sides.