The service where all the pictures are hosted for this thread is shutting down. I have reposted all the pictures at a different site, but GardenWeb does not allow me to edit my posts to change all the links. Here's a page with all the pictures on it. Don't miss the tiny "page 2" link at the top of the page. Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures for this thread

hoosier, you are definitely on the right forum, these ladies are a wealth of information and some of the nicest folks you'll ever get to know. Their good advise is always spot on and they don't seem to mind telling of their experience. I sometimes am embarrassed to ask a silly question, but they always jump in and answer me! They have gotten me thru multiple projects and I'm sure there will be more questions from me in the future! They advised me to put a layer of thinset on a manaquin, that I am still working on by the way, and my tess is adhering just fine. I don't have a lot left to finish on it but my time to work on it just doesn't seem to be there lately! Good luck on your fire pit cover, I know it will be amazing!

Here's what I've found: I know this has little to do with the fact that you're asking about portable or fixed, but I was concerned about wood-burning or propane unit: 1 - The ones with the glass rocks that use propane (whether portable or not) aren't as warm as a roaring fire in a wood-burning unit. 2 - Glass rocks are prettier than the wood, but there's something so cool about a roaring fire as opposed to a pretty one 3 - Guys love throwing wood and sticks into an open flame. 4 - Flame from wood-burning keeps the bugs away, and it makes for a cozy atmosphere at night. It even spreads a good amount of warmth - Fun times with drinks, and marshmallows (Need to buy extra long sticks on Amazon- then toss in fire afterward). You cannot roast marshmallows on the unit with glass rocks without ruining the rocks. 5 - You will come into your house smelling like fire when you sit at a wood-burning unit. 6 - If you use something portable, you can move it to adjust the party size layout. What did you choose?

It’s got to float free, or you’ll just have it separate. Stone and steel expand and contract at different rates. You can mortar stone to stone, but you need to give the steel an expansion gap, and not try to glue or mortar it to anything. How do you plan to clean the ashes? If the insert sits in the stone via gravity, you can just pick it up and dump it in a trash bag. How do you plan to replace the insert when it rusts out in a few years? Gravity lets you just remove the old and pop in the new. There is zero good reason to try to cover the insert with more stone.