20 NatureLoving Fireplace Ideas

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 drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burned with 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 devised to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in 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 possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased 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 improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a lengthier place at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which 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 layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

Instead it relied 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 placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of prosperity, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

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

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local businesses have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management problems due to the quantity of moisture they discharge in 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 totally sealed in the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were generally based within a space, allowing more people to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace designers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace components include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease 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 produced from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the air. The ideal method to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you detect you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace