Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, in caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated 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 snow and rain 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 wall or roof. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this enabled 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 reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, as they were more expensive to develop and maintain.The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.
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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course 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 at the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.
Organizations like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not good for you.Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces could 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, electric 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. In the USA, several states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.
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Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.
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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.
By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance into houses.Contemporary Stone Fireplace Surround Frame for Clean House Traba Homes Video
Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the air. The best method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.
Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass window while the fire is burning. In this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace surrounds
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