Fireplace mantel. 48 Long x 5.5 Tall x 5.5

Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with all the smoke climbing into the vent 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.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, as they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased 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 that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

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

In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management issues due to the quantity of moisture that they release into the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet 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 retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool racks.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for heat on chilly 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 individuals to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned 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 level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced with the use 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 manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method 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 relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass window while the fire is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace mantle