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 exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burnt with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain wouldn't enter.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use instantly, however, as they were expensive to develop and maintain.In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced 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 the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended 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 still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based on the design.Historically they were 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 alternative flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.
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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting 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 from the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.
Organizations such as 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 is not good for you.Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.
In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture that they discharge into the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either 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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As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more people to gather around it.
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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.
From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround as well as the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.Belham Living Palmer Fireplace Mantel Shelf Fireplace Mantels Surrounds at Hayneedle Video
Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece 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 complex concept although 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 air. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you detect you're turning the thermostat up or down.
Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace shelf
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