Fireplace Screens: Types and Safety Precautions

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of wealth, which to some degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not great for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A few types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. There are also air quality control issues due to the amount of moisture that they release into the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 components, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. The ideal method to gauge the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is offered through a big glass while the fire is burning. During this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace screen