20 NatureLoving Fireplace Ideas

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burned with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it out via a wall or roof. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were more expensive to build 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 enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a longer place at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Instead it depended on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

Organizations like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces could pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either wood or gas 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 USA, several 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 due to the quantity of moisture they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast range of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large 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 was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround and the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units incorporate a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also 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 made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a large glass while the fire is burning. In this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.wood fireplace