Any grilling should be supervised regularly.

It is not easy to set lumber on fire; however you should never take chances.

There are many ways to fire proof the wooden deck. 18" x 18" tiles are very cheap to pave under the grill.

Also check your local Building Code, for instance, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA :

Charcoal Burning Barbecues

Except when used at a one- or two-family dwelling, use of charcoal grills is not permitted on combustible balconies, decks or roofs or within 10 feet of combustible onstruction (such as the wall of a house with wood or vinyl siding).

dcarch

I have a BGE, and I think it would be safe on a wooden deck. I have never had any sparks fly from it, and it is extremely stable - more so than smaller grills.

I think there is a Big Green Egg forum, but I have not visited it.

Lars

Thanks for the info, Lars and dcarch. I will pick up some big ceramic tiles (Usually 15-18 inch ones can be had for a couple dollars each) at Habitat if I decide to splurge.

We live in a rural area. No one is much interested in building codes around here, I think. And I would probably never try to feed a big crowd with a BGE. Well, not a very big crowd.

Sandra

Makes cleaning easier too.

dcarch

Where I live, using a charcoal grill on a wood deck is against the law, and there is good reason for it.

This post was edited by dixiedog_2007 on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 17:37

Here is some info from the BGE Forum regarding fire dangers with wooden decks. It appears that some people had been using wooden tables as well, and you can see the charred remains.

You can fireproof your deck, but I still would not put a regular BBQ grill on it, but I think the BGE is much safer. Still, it would be a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher on hand, just in case. Much of my patio furniture is metal, and the patio is concrete, and so I have not had to think about fire dangers. However, we also have a few teak pieces, and we are very careful to protect them from anything hot, as we do not want burn marks.

If you have wooden or flamable furniture on your deck, I recommend replacing it with metal and glass or stone. I think it is also a good idea to have fire retardant on the deck whether you have a BGE there or not.

Lars

Thanks for the link, Lars. There is a lot to think about there.
Deck furniture is metal and glass, but I hadn't thought of the possibility of a long-term burn--an overnight cooking, for instance.

I'll read and think more. Our large elevated deck is so darn convenient to the kitchen. I would use the egg a lot there. Other choices require a trek through the whole house--far less likely to happen.

Thanks again to everyone for info, opinions, and links.

Sandra

Good post dear keep sharing these kind of useful information that help us lot. I also having same problem relating to Big Green Egg against charcoal grills.and my gas grill also fail.

Wow, I didn't know much about the BGE, even though our local restaurant supply store sells them, and has cooking demos fairly regularly.

I just looked at the BGE site and 1 picture shows the Egg inside a wooden surround, and one of the optional accessories is a lattice table. Again, the egg sits inside. The lattice sure looks like it's made of wood! The exterior of the egg stays cooler than gas bbq's. So all in all I would tend to think it would be safe for wooden decks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Green Egg site

This post was edited by jasdip on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 15:28

We use ours on a wood deck and have used charcoal grills on wood decks for at least 20 years. You take precautions to make sure embers don't get on the deck. With our BGE we place an ash bucket under the lower opening where something could conceivably come out if you have the little screen open. If the screen is shut I can't imagine how anything could get on the deck.

LOVE the BGE by the way - highly recommend!

There are some dealers close to us. Armed with info from ''youse guys'', I am going around in the next week or so and see what the total cost would be for a ''nest'' and egg. Haven't bought a new toy lately, and the urge is building. Hope it works out as wonderfully as my last splurge--a zojirushi breadmaker, which is kneading away as I type. Lovely, lovely toy, that one. The house will soon smell of bread. Now, what if I could also add the odors that waft up from smoking wood. Yummm.

Thanks again to everyone.

Gibby3000, I am really pleased to hear your endorsement and wood deck experience.

Sandra

I have a friend that uses it on a wooden deck, (he uses one of those rubberized bbq mats underneath, and he even has a tarp/cover over top (apparently it is fire proof).

I have a gas grill and a pellet smoker on a wood/vinyl covered deck. (same dangers I suppose), I just use mats underneath.

I would use tile, not rubber.

You may not be sure if the rubber is fire proof or fire retardant.

Most fire fatalities are from smoke inhalation, not from the fire.

dcarch

There are mats you can get to place under a grill. Although auto drip pans work better.
However unless you are quite literally a total idiot I can not imagine how you could set fire to a wood deck using a Kamado type grill (BGE).
They are extremely safe and absolutely zero way for hot coals to just drop onto the deck.
Small little sparks when lighting the charcoal sure but unless your deck is covered in crumpled newspaper I fail to see how a small charcoal spark can do anything to treated wood used for decking.
I have been cooking with and around others with charcoal grills on wood decks for 50+ years, most of that time using what "could" be a more likely candidate to set a deck on fire such as those cheap "Brinkman water Smokers" of which just has a thin metal bowl setting about 3-4" off the deck with holes in the bottom of it and is likely to rust out in about a year. Now THOSE are a danger and you best be careful. But even with those as long as you are careful and place one of those large auto drip pans, they are about 30x40" and made of galvanized steel then you are good to go. You can even pour a 1/2" of water in it to be super safe if you are smoking meat all night.

However a BGE, personally I use a Vision Grill which is virtually Identical to a BGE except they are far less expensive, thicker ceramic, better hinges.
But identical as far as any fire concern.

There is really no way for coals to fall out of a kamado grill/smoker. The ceramic is thick, in fact in the Vision grill you have a thick fire bowl with cast iron grate inside then a small 1/2" thick ceramic plate it sits on then the 1 3/4" thick ceramic outer.
There is no way it can be knocked over by the dog or a kid as it weighs over 250# and is very stable.

So Kamado Grills and wood decks don't worry about it as there is really no way you are setting anything on fire deck wise as long as you are not an idiot, such as do not place it 1" from the side of your house, do not have dry over hanging dead tree branches with leaves over it, don't cover your deck with pine straw, DOH!

I mean really, on a plain wood deck, clean of debris with the grill setting in the middle of it I don't see how it would even be possible to set the deck on fire even if you tried to.
This is mine on our deck.
The grill doesn't get closer than 2 feet from the deck and even when grilling steaks at 600+ degrees the outside from bottom to 2/3rds up never gets so hot that you cant put your hand on it.
It cant be tipped over, nothing can possibly fall out.
Exactly how can it catch anything on fire?