DeckProtect.com
Protect your deck or patio from the heat of a fire pit.
Will DeckProtect protect a TimberTech deck with a Breeo Fire Pit?
Breeo®, which is made in the U.S., is probably the best production fire pit there is. Being smokeless means that it burns hotter. Soon I will be running tests to see how the Breeo® fares with various brands of composite decking. In the meantime, we are fortunate to get word from a customer that she used an infrared thermometer to check on this question herself. The Breeo Luxeve® is a tight fit on a 30" DeckProtect square. The illustration at right shows the relative sizes. I was concerned that the sides of the fire pit might radiate heat onto the decking.
On a late spring evening in Pennsylvania, our customer kept an eye on her Breeo® to be doubly sure the DeckProtect would be fully effective in protecting her new TimberTech® deck. The Breeo is the 24" Luxeve. The outside diameter of the Breeo including the feet is 33". By placing the feet just inside the corners, she could fit the Breeo on a 30" DeckProtect square. The question was whether the sides of the Breeo would radiate heat to the decking just outside the DeckProtect. So to be safe, she placed extra pieces of TimberTech® next to the sides of the DeckProtect. Capped composite decking can soften at temperatures as low as 176 degrees Fahrenheit. Her findings are quoted below. We don't know if the results would be different on a hot summer day, but do most folks really want to use a fire pit on hot day?
"All went well with the Breeo and Deck Protect last night. We burned a fire for about 2.5 hours. The interior of the fire pit got to about 900 degrees F at its hottest point. The exterior (side wall) got to 150. Our sacrificial Timbertech reached a maximum of 150 (see photo for placement). The Deck protect surface reached 350 directly in the center under the Breeo, and 130 near the edges. All in all, I would call it fire pit success as the deck material seems fine."
