Fireplace Mantels and Rustic Mantel Shelves – Antique Woodworks

Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the ground, in caves, or in 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 fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out via a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised 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 also made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, however, since they were more 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. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing up the smoke and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater 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. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

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

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the quantity of moisture they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of the 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 an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transports 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 with the use of a fireback, a piece 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 notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting 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 large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.rustic fireplace mantels