This is a well set up kit. I built it alone in two full 8 hour days. I covered the opening on the top of the chimney created by the 2 'U' shaped pieces of stone to prevent water from coming straight down the chimney and washing the ash out onto the patio. The openings created by the 3 support C12's gives plenty of space for escaping gases & smoke. Water will still get in and wet the ash but it doesn't get washed out even in torrential downpours. I built this straight on a 4" thick concrete patio in the corner without any issues. I did a stack stone wall and pillars along it topped with bullnose to match that can be bought individually from General Shale locally. I have lost count of the number of fires we have built from small to raging without incident. I was concerned about the lack of a full fire box and only having the fire brick in the bottom but this has not been an issue. We attached a monogram in the center and used the provided tile in the corners for accent on the center location of the chimney.
This is a well set up kit. I built it alone in two full 8 hour days. I covered the opening on the top of the chimney created by the 2 'U' shaped pieces of stone to prevent water from coming straight down the chimney and washing the ash out onto the patio. The openings created by the 3 support C12's gives plenty of space for escaping gases & smoke. Water will still get in and wet the ash but it doesn't get washed out even in torrential downpours. I built this straight on a 4" thick concrete patio in the corner without any issues. I did a stack stone wall and pillars along it topped with bullnose to match that can be bought individually from General Shale locally. I have lost count of the number of fires we have built from small to raging without incident. I was concerned about the lack of a full fire box and only having the fire brick in the bottom but this has not been an issue. We attached a monogram in the center and used the provided tile in the corners for accent on the center location of the chimney.