Outdoor Gas Fireplaces and Fire Tables in Toronto: How to Choose (2026)

Here is the short version: a gas fire table is furniture with a flame in it, perfect for gathering people at conversation height, and most run 50,000 to 80,000 BTU on either propane or natural gas. An outdoor gas fireplace is architecture, a built-in focal wall that turns a patio into an outdoor room and stretches your season from April into November. Toronto backyards use both differently, and the right choice comes down to how you entertain, whether you have a gas line, and what your building allows.

Fire tables: warmth at conversation height

The strength of a fire table is placement: it sits in the middle of your seating, so everyone gets the flame and the warmth, and dinner does not have to end when the temperature drops. Our lineup runs from compact bowls to statement pieces like the 80,000 BTU Pharoah Alexandria and Key Largo, with most tables in the 50,000 to 65,000 BTU band. Nearly all are dual-fuel: run a propane tank hidden in the base for a no-install setup, or connect natural gas and never think about refills again. On heat, be realistic about open air: 60,000 BTU outdoors is a comfortable radius of a few feet around the table on a cool night, not a heated patio. Wind guards, which most of our tables accept, make a noticeable difference.

Outdoor fireplaces: the room-maker

A built-in outdoor gas fireplace like the Napoleon Riverside (60,000 BTU) or the see-through Napoleon Galaxy (70,000 BTU, up to 74 inches wide) does something a table cannot: it creates a wall, a focal point and a reason the patio feels like a room. Regency's HZO42 and HZO60 and Barbara Jean's linear outdoor fireplaces (36 to 72 inches, single-sided or see-through) cover the design range from traditional to fully modern. These are planned pieces: they get framed into a structure, finished in stone or panel, and connected to natural gas by a TSSA-certified technician, so they belong in a landscaping or renovation plan rather than an impulse purchase. The payoff is a backyard you use eight months of the year instead of four.

Propane or natural gas?

Propane wins on flexibility: no installation, no trenching, and you can rearrange the patio on a whim. It costs more per hour of flame, tanks run out mid-evening at least once a summer, and Ontario's propane rules are strict about storage: cylinders live outdoors, never inside the house or garage, and never on an enclosed balcony. Natural gas wins on convenience and cost: an endless fuel supply at roughly a third of propane's price per unit of heat, but the line must be run and connected by a TSSA-certified gas technician, and the appliance stays where the line is. The practical pattern we see: propane for the first season while the patio layout settles, then a natural gas line once you know where everything lives.

The rules that apply in Toronto

Three things keep an outdoor flame legal and safe here. First, buy certified: every unit we sell is certified for outdoor use, and certification is what makes a fire table acceptable on a wooden deck when the manual's clearances are followed. Second, respect clearances: the City of Toronto's outdoor fire safety guidance calls for at least a metre from combustibles, and propane relief valves must be kept away from building openings and air intakes. Third, gas work is licensed work: any natural gas connection, including a simple quick-connect on a deck, is a job for a TSSA-certified technician under Ontario Regulation 215/01. One more that surprises people: an outdoor appliance is outdoor-only. Never run a fire table in a garage or enclosed porch; they are not vented appliances and the carbon monoxide risk is real.

Condo and apartment balconies are their own category: the building's declaration and rules decide what is allowed before the fire code even enters the picture, and propane storage restrictions rule out most tank-based products above the ground floor. If you are on a balcony, talk to your board first, and consider an electric patio heater if the answer is no.

Making it last through a Toronto winter

Outdoor gas products are built for weather, but the freeze-thaw cycle is harder on them than cold alone. The routine that keeps a fire table looking new: a fitted cover whenever it is not burning, burner media (glass or stones) kept clean and dry, the propane tank disconnected and stored outside if you are shutting down for winter, and a spring check of the burner ports and igniter before the first light. Built-in fireplaces need less: keep the firebox covered or screened against snow and let the spring service visit check the burner and gas connections.

See them burning

Flame height, burner media and finishes read completely differently in person than in photos. Visit our Toronto showroom with your patio dimensions and a sense of how you entertain, and we can point you at the right category in minutes. Call (416) 482-8585 or browse the outdoor collection first.

Sources

This guide draws on the City of Toronto's barbecue and outdoor fire safety guidance and Ontario Regulation 215/01 on certified gas work. Heat figures come from the manufacturer specifications of the models we stock; clearances for any specific unit come from its installation manual.