Through the French eye of design: WOODLESS FIREPLACES

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since 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. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier place on 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 from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Rather it depended on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

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

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic 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 different studies, fireplaces could pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass 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 kinds 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, some states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management problems due to the amount of moisture they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark 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 maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were 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.

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed 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 atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the air. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large 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 stage the first heat is provided through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time period the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.gas fireplace logs