20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or at the center 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 produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open flame burned with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, however, since 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. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 at this time were a sign of prosperity, which to a 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 its relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, depending on the design.

Historically they were used 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 alternative flue allows exhaust to escape.

Related Images with 20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent rain. A few 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's not great for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A few types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.

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 kinds of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide 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 port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

Decorate Your Mantel Year Round HGTV

AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire dogs, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed 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 cold 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 space, allowing more people to gather around it.

30+ Amazing fall decorating ideas for your fireplace mantel

Decorate Your Mantel Year Round HGTV

Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

Decorate Your Mantel Year Round HGTV Video

Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transports 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 is also increased 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 made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so as the 15th century. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel decorating ideas