Having a Fire Pit Built in West Michigan: Gas or Wood, and What It Sits On

A fire pit looks like the simplest thing in the backyard. Having one built still means four decisions: the fuel, how it is made, what it sits on and where it goes. A gas fire pit adds a fifth, the gas line.

For styles and looks, see 4 backyard fire pit ideas. For a full outdoor fireplace with a chimney, see what it takes to have an outdoor fireplace built. What VanderWall Brothers sells, installs and coordinates is on its outdoor fireplace and fire pit page.

Key Takeaways / Summary

• Gas or wood comes first. It decides the permit, the base, the gas line and how far the fire pit sits from the house.
• There is no single Michigan distance. Your city or township sets it. The model fire code many of them adopt uses 25 feet for a recreational wood fire.
• It needs a stable, level, noncombustible base. Compacted gravel, a paver patio or concrete. Not a wood deck unless the unit's own manual allows it.
• A gas line is licensed work. In Michigan a licensed mechanical contractor runs it and pulls the permit.

Gas or Wood?

Wood gives you a real campfire. It also gives you smoke, ash and, in many places, a permit. The City of Grand Rapids, for example, requires a permit for any wood-burning fire on private property, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. only and never on Ozone Action Days.

Gas runs on natural gas or propane, and many burners light with a button. Grand Rapids does not require a permit for a gas or propane fire pit, but it must be used to the manufacturer's instructions. A gas burner burns gas only. HPC's burner manual says solid fuels shall not be burned in the fire pit, so it cannot double as a wood pit.

Gas is the usual choice in townships that do not allow wood burning. Gas vs. wood covers the trade-off for fireplaces, and most of it applies outside.

Built-In Masonry, a Kit or an Insert?

There are three ways to have one made.

A set-in insert. VanderWall Brothers carries above-ground and in-ground fire pits for wood or gas. A Zentro smokeless insert set inside three courses of wedge block can be installed and burning in just over an hour. Many fire pits and fire tables are simple enough to set up with friends or family.

A custom gas fire pit. VanderWall Brothers sells custom gas fire pits made around an HPC burner, in the shape you want. HPC is Hearth Products Controls. One of them was made in the shape of the Michigan State logo, and others sit along the lakeshore and on patios.

A built-in masonry fire pit. A large stone or brick fire pit, or one tied into seat walls, is masonry work. When a project calls for a lot of masonry, VanderWall Brothers matches you with a local mason it works with and coordinates with them. The stone, brick and block come from the company's own yard and showrooms.

A gas fire table is a fourth option that needs no building at all. Many are set in place, connected to a 20-pound propane tank and started with a button. Fire pit tables are on display in the outdoor section of the Spring Lake showroom.

What Does a Fire Pit Sit On?

The answer is something stable, level and noncombustible that drains. In practice that means compacted gravel, a paver patio or a concrete slab.

HPC's installation manual for its burner kits is specific about the enclosure around a gas burner:

• The enclosure must be built on a stable, level surface and installed above grade.
• It must allow for drainage so water does not damage the fire pit.
• It must be built of noncombustible materials, including the gas supply and power.
• It needs at least two vents on opposite sides, each with at least 18 square inches of open area, placed mid to low on the wall.
• The space around the valve box cannot be filled with gravel, crushed rock or concrete.
• The burner sits at least 2 inches below the top of the enclosure so wind does not blow the flame out.
• A gas shutoff goes on the outside of the enclosure.

The vents are a safety requirement. Gas that collects inside a sealed ring has nowhere to go. The manual warns that an unvented enclosure can overheat or explode.

Frost and the base. A ring of block still moves if the ground under it heaves. A compacted base that drains keeps the block from cracking and the burner level. For a heavy masonry pit or one tied into seat walls, ask the mason and your building official what goes under it. Can you put an outdoor kitchen on a paver patio walks through checking an existing patio for a heavy load, and why pavers sink covers what goes wrong below the surface.

Can it go on a wood deck? A wood deck is combustible. A wood fire does not belong on one. A gas unit goes on a deck only if its own manual says it may.

How Far From the House?

Michigan has no single statewide figure for a backyard fire pit. The state's own fire prevention rules adopt NFPA 1, the 2006 Uniform Fire Code. They exclude one- and two-family homes and do not apply where a city or township has adopted its own fire code.

Many Michigan cities and townships adopt the International Fire Code by ordinance. Fruitport Charter Township adopted the 2021 edition in August 2025. In the model code, a recreational fire cannot be held within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material. A portable outdoor fireplace, the screened wood-burning kind you buy, cannot be used within 15 feet. That 15 foot rule carries an exception for one- and two-family homes. Which category your fire pit falls into is the fire official's call.

Cities often write their own numbers. Grand Rapids uses 20 feet from buildings, lot lines, roads, alleys, fences and anything that can burn, and 15 feet from overhead lines.

A gas fire pit has its own clearances in its manual. HPC's tables list side and overhead clearances that grow with the burner's BTU rating. Pergolas, roof overhangs and tree limbs all count as overhead.

When your local rule and the unit's manual differ, the stricter one wins. Wind matters too. How sun and wind shape outdoor living spaces covers where smoke and flame will go once the seating is in.

Who Runs the Gas Line?

A natural gas fire pit usually needs a new line from the house. In Michigan that is fuel gas piping. A licensed mechanical contractor installs it and pulls the permit. Who installs gas fireplace inserts in Michigan explains the license classifications.

HPC recommends its products be installed by professionals licensed in gas piping by the local authority. Its manual makes the installer responsible for following the fuel gas code, sizing the line to the burner and leak testing every connection.

Look for a unit certified to ANSI Z21.97, the standard for outdoor decorative gas appliances. Intertek describes it as covering gas fire pits on a tank or a gas line, portable or built in. Decide between natural gas and propane before ordering, because the burner runs only on the fuel on its label.

Before anyone digs a trench, Michigan's MISS DIG law requires notice at least 3 business days ahead. Private lines such as sprinklers need a private locator.

VanderWall Brothers is licensed and insured and holds a mechanical license to install fireplaces.

What Happens on Install Day?

These are VanderWall Brothers' steps, with the permit and site work added where they fall:

1. Bring a photo of the yard to either showroom. It is the quickest way to see what will fit.
2. Home visit. Someone confirms measurements and looks at utilities and access.
3. A True Up estimate. If the job comes in under it, the savings go back to you.
4. Permits, locates and the base. The permit is pulled, MISS DIG marks the lines and the base goes in.
5. The masonry. If the design needs a stone or brick surround, VanderWall Brothers supplies the material and coordinates with the mason doing that work.
6. Install and inspect. The burner is connected and leak tested, the media goes on and any inspection is booked.
7. Light it and service it. The technician lights it with you, shows you how to run it and services it afterward.

For media, HPC's approved choices are lava rock and decorative glass. It warns never to use gravel, pebbles or river rock, which can trap moisture and fracture when heated. If lava rock is wet, the manual says to run the fire pit for 45 minutes before anyone comes within 15 feet. Keep it covered when it is not in use. Ask to be shown the outside shutoff. HPC also suggests a yearly service by an NFI certified gas specialist.

Start With a Photo of Your Yard

VanderWall Brothers has served West Michigan since 1922. Bring a photo of the spot you have in mind to the Spring Lake or Grand Rapids showroom, send it through the contact page, or call (616) 842-4500. The outdoor fireplace and fire pit page shows the units the company carries.

Sources

• City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Fire Department reminds residents: permits needed for recreational fires, March 30, 2026, for the wood-burning permit, the gas and propane exemption, the 20 foot and 15 foot distances, the hours and the Ozone Action Day rule.
• Michigan Administrative Code, R 29.1651, applicability, for the state fire rules excluding one- and two-family dwellings and not applying where a local fire code is adopted.
• Michigan Administrative Code, R 29.1652, adoption by reference, for the state rules adopting NFPA 1, 2006 edition.
• Charter Township of Fruitport, notice of adoption of the 2021 International Fire Code ordinance, for the August 2025 adoption.
• International Code Council, International Fire Code, 2021, Chapter 3, Sections 307.4.2 and 307.4.3, for the 25 foot recreational fire distance, the 15 foot portable outdoor fireplace distance and its one- and two-family exception.
• Hearth Products Controls, Burner Safety Manual, Penta Burners, Fire Rings, H-Burners, T-Burners, S-Fire and Dual Burners, for the enclosure, venting, drainage, shutoff, clearance, licensed installer, fuel gas code, media, solid fuel and service instructions.
• Intertek, ANSI Z21.97, Outdoor Decorative Gas Appliances, for the scope of the standard.
• Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, mechanical contractor licensing, for licensed mechanical contractors installing fuel gas piping and securing permits.
• MISS DIG 811, homeowner introduction, for the 3 business day notice and private lines needing a private locator.
• VanderWall Brothers, outdoor fireplace and fire pit installation, for the fire pits and tables carried, the Zentro install time, the HPC custom fire pits, the local mason arrangement, the license and the steps of the job.

Distance, permit and base rules vary by city, township and unit. Your fire official, your building department, the unit's own manual and a licensed gas installer govern your project.