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Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open flame burned with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were more expensive to build 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 enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

Rather it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into 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 construction made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based upon the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a dwelling, 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 casting courses of brick act as a drip course 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 at the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

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

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

In the USA, some states and local businesses have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. There are also air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture that they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame 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 protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument stands.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more people to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units incorporate a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air 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 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 concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

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 for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.wood burning fireplace inserts