Olivia Fireplace Surround – Colin Parker Masonry

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the floor, within caves, or in 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 fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burnt with the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out via a wall or roof. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage 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 airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier place at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the design.

Historically they were utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home 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, in which the casting 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 out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared 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 great, but it is not great for you.

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture they release in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside 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 puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

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 served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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The Bossart firesurround in farrowandball Manor House Grey. Can be painted in any colour. Also

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

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert 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 era were believed to add a cozy ambiance into homes.

The Bossart firesurround in farrowandball Manor House Grey. Can be painted in any colour. Also Video

Some fireplace components include a blower that 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 can also be enhanced with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. The best way to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% 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 offered through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace surround