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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires is present 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 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 a open fire burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use immediately, however, since they were 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 which greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area at the top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Instead it relied 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 supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending on the design.

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

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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

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

In the USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety 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 vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a piece 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 manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the air. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing 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. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.wood fireplace mantels