Debate: gravel or concrete under a fire pit, and my wife and I are split after 3 weekends of work
She wants poured concrete because our neighbor in Tucson said gravel weeds up within a year, but I say gravel drains better after rain and costs $200 less, so who is right here?
My uncle poured concrete under his fire pit in Reno back in 2019 and by the next spring he had cracks from the heat plus a nice little weed crop coming through the control joints. Gravel lets water pass through, which means less heaving when it freezes and less pooling when it doesn't, so the neighbor's weed problem was probably a weed barrier issue, not a gravel issue. You two are basically arguing about whether to fix drainage or fix weeds, and most home projects come down to that same choice.