deck ideas: no water, so fire?

[abka]

Since our hot tub is kaput and we probably won't be able to put another one in the hole (and there might be better places in the yard to put one), I'm thinking about how to deal with that section of the deck.

People who know how to build things:
Once we remove the old hot tub. Can we/how do we repair the big hole in the center. Can we patch it? Do we need to rip out the entire floor in that section and put down a new floor. Is this something we need to hire people for, or with research and effort could we manage it ourselves?

picture in this post
the whole thing is just under 10'x10'

Pretending the floor is fixed. I think we will rip out the ugly overgrown bushes that I don't know how to prune. And remove the gate, and possibly the railing on the side with the gate.

Denis suggested a bar, which is still a possibility, but I'm not sure how much we'd use it since the deck is so close to the kitchen.

I'm envisioning benches with lots of cushions all along the side of the house and one of the railings (in an L shape). Then maybe a firepit in the middle?

Denis worries a firepit would be too close to the house. Maybe just one of those little commercial ones, or is there a way to use part of the preexisting hole to create a recessed firepit?

Any thoughts or opinions?

Comments

[lightgetsin]

As learned by a friend of mine, fire pit close to the house = smoke damage like whoa.

[abka]

Eeep, good to think about. Thanks.

[aerye]

Instead of a fire pit you could use chimineas - I like clay but I've heard the iron ones are nice, too. They would give you some advantages in terms of moving them in and out of the space as the weather inclines you to have a fire or not, and they do direct the smoke more than an open pit would.

[abka]

Oh good idea. I hadn't considered those. Thanks :)