Pearl Mantels Abingdon Fireplace Mantel Shelf with Secret Drawer Fireplace Mantels Surrounds

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor flame pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, as they were more expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern kitchens.

Instead it depended on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of 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 change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

Related Images with Pearl Mantels Abingdon Fireplace Mantel Shelf with Secret Drawer Fireplace Mantels Surrounds

Pearl Mantels 550 Richmond MDF Fireplace Mantel in White

On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

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

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the amount of moisture that they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

Vail Wood Mantel Shelf Fireplace Mantel Shelves Floating Mantel Shelf MantelsDirect.com

AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool racks.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a space, allowing more people to collect around it.

Shenandoah Fireplace Mantel Shelf Home Accents

Breckenridge Wood Mantel Shelves Fireplace Mantel Shelf Floating Mantel Shelf

Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

Breckenridge Wood Mantel Shelves Fireplace Mantel Shelf Floating Mantel Shelf Video

Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease 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 produced from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. The best way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace shelf