Acceptable shared chimney flues: ok to share a flue in some cases

Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't 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 put against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.

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

Instead it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

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

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Fireplace Wikipedia

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

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

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. In the USA, some states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to 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 dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument stands. 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 necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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How to operate fireplace damper, Chimney Keepers

Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround and the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

How to operate fireplace damper, Chimney Keepers Video

Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the flame 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 efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. The ideal way to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace flue