I'm not sure how your fire pit relates to the plan but can provide answers anyway. First, make sure your design adheres to local code, if any - fire pits are so popular these days, many municipalities have enacted code requirements for safety and environmental considerations. I think your stone ring could work - you'd need a mighty hot fire to burst the stones - but the size described is a bit small, IMO. I'd be looking at something more the size of a basketball. Smaller stones tend not to hold their position as well as larger, heavier ones and if river rock type stones, won't stack easily. 16"x8"x8" concrete blocks are also commonly used for this purpose - not the most aesthetic but highly functional. Bespoke steel or concrete aggregate fire pits are ideal if costly.......and all look better if raised off the ground some distance (safer, too) In a perfect world, the paving for the area would be what you prefer - flagstone, concrete, stamped concrete, concrete with rock or tile mosaic, gravel, etc. Both gravel and sand are perfectly functional and very economical. I would recommend using rigid edging (used for hardscapes) surrounding the area to contain the material - you don't want either to migrate into the lawn. And make sure the area is large enough to accommodate whatever seating you envision as well as the fire pit itself and a buffer zone around it. Also consider the impact of the heat of the fire on any surrounding vegetation and site accordingly.

Last year, I spent several hours doing some Googling on the FPE panels. I came up with two failure modes that were well documented: 1. Double-pole breakers can jam in such a way that they will not trip under any circumstances. It is also possible that one or both poles can remain on when the handle is in the OFF position. 2. Physical fragility of the panels. It is possible to plug breakers into slots where they don't belong. Breakers can work themselves loose in the panel over time. I didn't find a well-documented failure mode for the single-pole breakers to fail to trip. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist; I just couldn't come up with much (some anecdotal evidence, but it doesn't appear that anyone has done a thorough independent investigation, as has been done on the double-pole breakers). Just riffing on this, I speculate that a faulty breaker could have been a factor in the first fire. If it occurred in stove wiring, that presumably would be a 220V 3- or 4-wire circuit with a double-pole breaker. A short or overload on that circuit might not have been cleared by the FPE breaker. I find it less likely that a breaker was a contributing factor in the second fire; that sounds like a poor connection at the switch, or an arc across the contacts inside the switch. Nonetheless, I would be trying my best to convince the co-op that these panels need to be replaced. As I understand it, every resident of the co-op shares the financial risk of liability in the event of a fire. Not to mention the shared risk of actually living in the building with this hazard. If I were a resident, I'd want to reduce my exposure to that risk ASAP. And yes, if those disconnects in the basement contain FPE breakers, I'd replace those too. Remember, those are the double-pole breakers that have a well documented failure mode.

We are installing a vent free heatilator in our new build also. The one the builder is putting in is a 46 inch. With the black surround. We went to the business he is ordering it from to get a look at the displays. The business owner said we could get the fake brick instead of the black if we wanted. Sounded like an option we could get. I don't remember what the cost was, but it didn't seem like a huge amt, I think we will go with that. He also said if we wanted the flame larger just turn up the gas. We thought if we were unhappy with the way the log fire looked, not realistic, We would just buy a better one later when we are not so broke from the build:)

How can a gas stove leave soot on the bottom of a pot? I have never heard of that. I have had the same Rivereware copper bottomed pots and pans for over 40 years and have used them on 5 different gas stoves. I cannot imagine that every one had the defects that you imply. All of the pots have had blackened bottoms between cleanings. Granted gas does discolor the copper but that is not what I am discussing. Also, if it was from the gas flame then would not the distribution of the carbon reflect the flame pattern? In this case, I am talking about a stainless steel deep fry skillet and as I said the oven cleaner worked extremely well. I still wonder if the carbon added to or detracted from the coking efficiency. Maybe it makes no difference.