There is no definitive answer to this question. The more important question is, which suits your home design and lifestyle better—lava rock or fire glass?
A $12 million mansion demands the razzle and dazzle of fire glass. Whereas fire glass would look out of place in a log cabin in the woods, where the organic nature of lava rock would be a better choice. However, if you live somewhere in-between, as most of us do, the decision is not a slam-dunk.
People who love to play with design will love fire glass. It comes in a variety of colors and finishes. You can use it as an accent color in your patio design or coordinate it with your patio furniture and landscaping.
Fire glass adds an element of design that translates to any time of day. The color and reflective nature of the glass capture the sun’s rays for a shimmering look during daylight, and it sparkles at night when lit by the flames.
Fire glass offers a more sophisticated look to gas fire features, whether that is your indoor fireplace or outdoor gas fire pit, or fire table. If you’re going for a polished or modern look, fire glass is the obvious choice.
To that end, Celestial Fire Glass has a large selection of premium-grade fire glass.
But just because lava rocks are lacking in color and shine, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a role to play. Lava rocks are neutral in color, low-priced, and lightweight to ship. Because of this, they are the default filler included with many gas fire pits and fire tables. (Fire glass comes in so many colors, it would be impossible to find one color all customers would want.)
Lava rock is “of the earth” and it looks like it. So, it is perfectly at home in design schemes with heavy nature themes or vintage settings.
When it comes to maintenance—they each have their pros and cons.
Fire glass is prone to sooting, so it will need to be cleaned from time to time. However, this process is simple and does not require anything special. You simply swish the fire glass around in a water/vinegar mixture, rinse, and lay it out to dry.
Cleaning lava gets a bit trickier. It doesn’t need to be cleaned as often because it hides soot deposits. However, whenever lava rock gets wet, you have to be mindful of all the holes where water can gather and its porous nature.
If it is not fully dry when it is heated to a high temperature, steam can build up within it. That expands the rock and can cause it to explode. Anyone sitting around the fire feature would be at risk of injury.
For this reason, a fire pit burner cover to protect the rocks from snow and rain is particularly important.
Fire glass is a better choice than lava rock if you want to add color, sparkle, and sophistication to your gas fire feature. Lava rock is a better choice than fire glass if you’re on a tight budget or are looking to create a rustic feel.
Fire glass is a special type of decorative glass that's added to outdoor gas fire pits and fireplaces to enhance their beauty. In a gas fire pit, fire glass conveniently keeps the burner out of sight; only the decorative glass…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndayR5gEnXU While most people don’t give it much thought, properly installing fire glass is important to how well your gas fire feature performs. If you simply dump a pile of fire glass into your pit, you’re bound to have problems…
If you’re looking to liven up your outdoor fire pit or fireplace, fire glass is a fantastic choice. Its shimmery, sparkling look and vibrant selection of colors are a refreshing option over the usual brown, “blah” lava rocks and stones.…
Back in the Olden Days when I started the iDigHardware website, one of my goals was to share information in a location where people could find it on their own rather than having to contact me. I couldn’t keep up with all of the phone calls, emails, and yes – even faxes!
Even though I now have the ACE Network backing me up, I still love to share great resources here. Questions continue to arise regarding fire-rated glass and framing, and Technical Glass Products (TGP) has recently updated a page on their site that answers a couple dozen of the FAQs.
Just a few of my favorite examples…
If you’re looking for answers to any questions about fire-rated glass and framing, start at www.fireglass.com.
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