Fieldstone Fire Pit - Contractor says it doesn't need fire bricks or refractory cement?

[tomgrin]

Hi everyone, we have a pretty big masonry job going on right now, and so far, we are very happy with our landscape and masonry contractors.

But the planned field stone fire pit was (by our contract) supposed to be lined with fire bricks and use refractory mortar cement. While they were building it, my contractor decided that it would not need fire bricks or refractory cement. I pushed him on this, and said, "ok, but the workers used standard cement, not fire-safe as agreed to."

My question is, are they misleading me on their game-time decision not to include those?

There is still time to hold them to the agreement if I can support that we really need them, either for fire safety, or for long-term wear of the fieldstone and (what will be soon) the wet-set bluestone patio around it.

The deck boards are being replaced, and the fire pit area will be wet-set bluestone.

Here are pics of the fire pit. Thanks for your help.

 

[Shaggy]

Hi everyone, we have a pretty big masonry job going on right now, and so far, we are very happy with our landscape and masonry contractors.

But the planned field stone fire pit was (by our contract) supposed to be lined with fire bricks and use refractory mortar cement. While they were building it, my contractor decided that it would not need fire bricks or refractory cement. I pushed him on this, and said, "ok, but the workers used standard cement, not fire-safe as agreed to."

My question is, are they misleading me on their game-time decision not to include those?

There is still time to hold them to the agreement if I can support that we really need them, either for fire safety, or for long-term wear of the fieldstone and (what will be soon) the wet-set bluestone patio around it.

The deck boards are being replaced, and the fire pit area will be wet-set bluestone.

Here are pics of the fire pit. Thanks for your help.

View attachment 6283View attachment 6284View attachment 6285

Yeah, I’d definitely be a little concerned too. Fieldstone looks great, but it’s not really meant to handle the high heat of a fire pit on its own. That’s why fire bricks and special heat-resistant mortar are usually used. They hold up better and help protect the outer stone. Regular cement and stone can crack or break down over time from the heat. If it were me, I’d ask the contractor to stick with the original plan. You want it to last, not fall apart after a few fires.

What did you end up doing?