cottage instincts: ::About That Fireplace::

Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located 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 allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms 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 feasible to give 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, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier area on very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of wealth, which to some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, depending on the plan.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or alternative flue allows exhaust to escape.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the 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 different studies, fireplaces could pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not good for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical 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 United States, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They have been 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 centered within a space, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround and the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which 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 is also enhanced by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a big glass while the flame 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 next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.painted fireplace