The Engineering Behind the Flame
Urban Outdoors builds firepits and firetables from porcelain and stainless steel rather than resin or concrete, and engineers every burner to resist wind without a glass screen.
Urban firetable construction - to scale
Anyone can describe a fireplace as bespoke - we'd rather show you how ours are actually built, so you can judge the quality for yourself or specify it with confidence.
Firepits and firetables: built like architecture, not furniture
Most firepits and firetables in this category are made from cast resin or concrete - heavy, and prone to the wear and colour degradation that comes with cheaper materials. Ours are built differently.
Each firepit or tabletop is 6mm Italian or Spanish porcelain, fitted without visible joins to a rigid space-frame of 25×15mm rectangular hollow-section 304 stainless steel. The result is a piece that reads as solid stone but is light enough for two people to carry - a real advantage on a garden project or a penthouse terrace, where access is often tighter than the finished piece.
The burner sits in a rebated housing beneath the surface, lined in matching mitred porcelain, and lifts out without tools for servicing. Built-in ventilation and drainage are standard. Every piece is made to your dimensions - up to 3000mm as standard, longer using minimal-visibility joins - not selected from a fixed range of sizes.
Firetable bases can be finished to match or contrast: porcelain, brushed 304 stainless steel with no visible welds, or powder-coated galvanised steel in a wide choice of RAL colours. LED lighting can be built into a shadow gap beneath the tabletop on request.
Frameless wall fires: engineered to disappear
A frameless wall fire is designed to look like nothing more than a clean opening in a wall - the engineering behind that simplicity is what keeps it working for years, not just months.
The firebox is a rigid metal structure, built to protect the burner from the weather and to resist the expansion and contraction of a daily heat cycle — a lesser structure can develop a metallic "pinging" as it cools, and eventually distort. Material is chosen for the environment: weathercoated galvanised steel or 304 stainless steel for most locations, or 316 marine-grade stainless steel where a coastal atmosphere would otherwise cause corrosion.
A removable folded edge allows your site contractor to render or tile directly up to the firebox opening for a precise, factory-quality finish.
The burner: where the real engineering lives
The visible parts of a fireplace get most of the attention, but the burner is where genuine quality - or the lack of it - actually shows up.
Our UK-made Signature burners use a gas/air mix (aerated combustion) rather than burning gas neat. This produces a hotter, more realistic flame, avoids the soot and staining a non-aerated burner can leave behind, and needs less frequent servicing.
Every Signature burner is wind-resistant by design, not by hiding the flame behind a glass screen. The pilot flame sits below the burner surface rather than above it, and every electronic component — the receiver, the motorised gas valve, all wiring — is protected in an IP-65 rated enclosure.
A safety cut-off system, monitored by the pilot flame and thermocouple, shuts the gas supply if the flame is ever interrupted.
Flame height and heat output are adjustable by remote control, with the option of smartphone or home automation control. Fuel beds use safe, moulded ceramic glass, produced at 1600°C so it won't burn out or blow away over time - a longer-lasting alternative to loose volcanic rock or glass chippings.
Certified, not just claimed
Every burner is certified to UKCA/CE standards under BS EN 509, and must be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer as is the included LPG conversion kit. That's not a marketing claim - it's a legal requirement, and one worth checking for with any supplier before you buy.
It's also worth knowing that gas types and pressures differ between regions - a burner designed for North America or China won't necessarily run safely or correctly on UK gas supplies, whatever its build quality. Even experienced specifiers can be caught out by this if a product hasn't been designed and certified for the UK and Europe from the outset. Always confirm the UKCA/CE marking and country of design before specifying or buying.
Further technical detail
Full specification sheets, dimensions and installation guidance are available on our [Download page].
Frequently asked questions
Do Urban Outdoors firepits need a glass screen to protect the flame?
No. Our burners are engineered to be wind-resistant by design — the pilot flame sits below the burner surface, and the ignition and control components are protected in an IP-65 rated enclosure — so no glass screen is needed.
What are Urban Outdoors firepits and firetables made from?
A 6mm Italian or Spanish porcelain surface on a rigid 304 stainless steel space frame, rather than the cast resin or concrete typically used elsewhere in the category.
Can a firepit or firetable be made to a custom size?
Yes. Every piece is made to your dimensions, up to 3000mm as standard and longer on request, rather than chosen from a fixed range.
What materials are used for frameless wall fires?
Weathercoated galvanised steel or 304 stainless steel for most locations, and 316 marine-grade stainless steel for coastal environments where salt air would otherwise cause corrosion.