Lava Rock

Lava Rock and Lava Stone

What is lava rock?

As you probably know, the rock is the result of Volcanic activity, and therefore pretty well disposed to handling the comparatively low temperatures of a fire pit or fireplace.

It is formed as Volcanic rock or magma rises to the surface and begins to cool at the same time as releasing gas, thus creating a rough, porous surface.

For many years, it had been used as the finishing touch in fire pits and fireplaces. More recently, it has had to share the limelight with more colorful fire glass. However, even if it does not have the staring role in your fire feature, it still has an important and practical function to fulfill.

Used as Fire Pit Media

As decorative fire pit media, we have two options.

The tumbled Lava Stone is Lava Rock that has undergone a process to smooth out the rough surface, creating a pebble-like finish. It still has the same porous qualities and such but is transformed, with a more contemporary aesthetic.  

The Stones are too big to be used alone, without a filler to cover the burner which helps the gas spread safely, and evenly throughout the pan. Small-sized lava rock is perfect for this and as such is used in conjunction with not only the larger-sized stones or rock, but also used as a filler base for Fire Logs. 

Lava Rock can also used by itself as the final decorative touch. 

Used as a Filler

Fire Glass is twice as dense, which means that a 10 lb bag will only fill half the area/space as a 10 lb bag of lava rock.

People are often surprised by how much fire glass they need to finish off their fire pit and the cost soon adds up. The ‘Pro Tip” here is to use small-sized Lava Rocks as a filler underneath your fire glass. Generally, this reduces the amount of fire glass you need by about half!

We recommend using the 1/4 to 1/2 size option for this.

For more information, check out our blog post How to use Fire Pit Rocks.