The Yellow Cape Cod: White Washed Brick Fireplace~Tutorial

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, 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 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 snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be put 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 in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use instantly, however, since they were more expensive to build 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 chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved 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 made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation 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 relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.

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's often a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas 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 businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in recent Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate warmth, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the house. 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 ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace designers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of 2 parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace components include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced 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 produced from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the air. 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 elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass window while the fire is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.whitewash fireplace