Superior DRT3040 Gas Fireplace 40quot; Clean Face Direct Vent Top/Rear Traditional eBay

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, in caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burned 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 rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general usage instantly, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer place at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount 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 on a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based upon the design.

Historically they have been used 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 other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

Related Images with Superior DRT3040 Gas Fireplace 40quot; Clean Face Direct Vent Top/Rear Traditional eBay

Superior Fireplaces WRE3836 36 Outdoor Wood Burning Fireplace with Catalytic PureFire Technology

On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting 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 outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with 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.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management issues because of the quantity of moisture that they release in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

IHP Superior DRT6300 Direct Vent Gas Fireplace

AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic 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 ashes. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument stands. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were generally based within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

Superior DRT3040 Gas Fireplace 40quot; Clean Face Direct Vent Top/Rear Traditional eBay

Superior Fireplaces VRT3542WS 42 Tall Opening Universal Firebox with White Stacked Liner

Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers 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 colored, with an emphasis on the quality 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 as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

Superior Fireplaces VRT3542WS 42 Tall Opening Universal Firebox with White Stacked Liner Video

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 space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the fire 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 complicated 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, intended to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to gauge the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can 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 atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a big glass while the fire is burning. During this time the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.superior fireplaces