Wood Mantels, Fireplace Surrounds, and Shelving

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burnt with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use instantly, however, as they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised 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 which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer area at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, depending on the design.

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

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, some states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management issues due to the amount of moisture they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either 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.

Wood Fireplace Mantels for Fireplaces Surrounds Design The Space

AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a 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 metal frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. 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 visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were generally based within a room, 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, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to add a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace components 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 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 made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to heat the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so as the 15th century. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case 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 at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then equally radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace surrounds