Fired by Design, Where Fire Meets Fine Living

Where South African craftsmanship, considered design and the enduring ritual of cooking over fire come together.

There are few things more intrinsically South African than gathering around a fire. It is where food is prepared, stories unfold and an ordinary evening has a way of becoming an occasion. For Thermo Fires, that relationship with fire has been at the heart of the business since 2003.

Based in Cape Town, Thermo Fires is a proudly South African designer and manufacturer specialising in braais, fireplaces and everything that accompanies them. What began in a 500m² factory has grown to more than three times its original size, while the company remains under the leadership of owner Liza van Zyl.

MADE HERE. MADE WITH PURPOSE.

There is something particularly compelling about an object whose provenance is as considered as its design.

Thermo Fires manufactures its products locally and from scratch. The process is handled in-house, from design, guillotining, laser cutting and bending to the manufacture of grids, flues and cowls. It is an approach that gives the company control over the quality of the finished product while allowing specialist teams to concentrate on different areas of production.

It also makes customisation part of the conversation.

Alongside an extensive standard collection, Thermo Fires designs and manufactures bespoke units for spaces that demand something individual. The company combines aesthetics with the practical requirements of correct extraction — an important consideration when the braai is destined to become an architectural feature rather than simply an appliance.

THE BRAAI, REIMAGINED

Today’s braai is increasingly integrated into the architecture of the home. It can anchor an entertainment room, become a focal point on a patio or provide the transition between indoor and outdoor living.

Thermo Fires responds with an extensive selection spanning built-in, freestanding, spit, combination wood-and-gas and double-sided braais, alongside stainless-steel and custom options.

For contemporary spaces, the Professional built-in range adopts a particularly clean approach. Instead of traditional chains, its single door slides almost completely beneath the ashpan when not required and can be pulled forward to provide additional workspace. Standard sizes range from 800mm through to 1800mm, while the range includes a reinforced coalmaker, 304 stainless-steel grid, potjie hook, light fitting and ashpan.

Then there is the enduring De Luxe range, available in standard sizes from 800mm to 1800mm. Thermo Fires offers these braais in mild steel, 3CR12 and 304 stainless steel, as well as combinations incorporating stainless-steel façades. The De Luxe range is supplied with polished 304 stainless-steel grids, with larger models offering two independently adjustable grids — allowing different foods to cook at different heights over the fire.

For homeowners looking for another stainless-steel option, the Premium range is available in 430, 304 and 316 brushed stainless steel. Its tab-and-slot construction reduces manufacturing processes such as welding, cleaning, pickling and polishing, while retaining practical features including a reinforced coalmaker, stainless-steel grids, potjie hook, light fitting and slide-away single door.

FREEDOM TO ENTERTAIN

Not every space calls for a built-in installation.

Thermo’s freestanding braais bring the fire into patios and entertainment areas without requiring the braai itself to be built into the architecture. De Luxe models are offered in 900mm, 1200mm and 1500mm standard sizes, while Professional freestanding models extend to 1800mm.

The units feature double-skinned bodies, creating an air gap between the inner and outer surfaces, and can be specified on a cabinet — useful for storing braai essentials — or on a pedestal. They can also be customised as spit, gas or combination braais.

It is this ability to adapt that makes the collection particularly relevant to contemporary South African living: the braai can be designed around the home rather than the home being forced to accommodate the braai.

BESPOKE BY NATURE

Sometimes the most beautiful solution is the one that does not yet exist.

For spaces with unusual dimensions, specific architectural requirements or simply an owner with a particular idea in mind, Thermo Fires offers custom design and manufacture. Special flues, cowls, canopies and replacement components can also form part of the solution.

That capability comes from decades of specialist knowledge. Owner and CEO Liza van Zyl has more than 30 years’ experience in the braai industry, while Thermo Fires itself has been manufacturing in Cape Town since September 2003.

The company backs that manufacturing philosophy with its “Leadership through Quality” motto and states that it offers a 20-year warranty against faulty material and workmanship.

DESIGNED AROUND THE WAY SOUTH AFRICA LIVES

Perhaps that is the enduring appeal of a well-designed braai. It isn’t merely somewhere to cook.

It becomes part of the architecture of entertaining: the place people naturally gravitate towards, where the glow of the coals stretches dinner into an evening and where cooking becomes part of the occasion rather than something happening elsewhere.

With locally manufactured built-in and freestanding braais, sophisticated stainless-steel options and the ability to create something entirely bespoke, Thermo Fires approaches that familiar South African ritual through the lens of craftsmanship, functionality and considered design.

Because the best fires don’t simply heat a space.

They bring it to life.

THERMO FIRES

Factory Showroom
18 Viben Avenue
Brackenfell, Cape Town
South Africa

Showroom Hours
Monday–Thursday: 08:00–16:50
Friday: 08:00–15:00
Closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays

Explore the collection: Thermo Fires