Has rural New Zealand living ever looked this good?

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general use immediately, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the venting and airflow system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer area at the top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.

Instead it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time were a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape.

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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not good for you.

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

In the United States, several states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western civilizations comprise 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 frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround and the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large 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 next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.indoor fireplace