DIY Fireplace Mantel The Idea Room

Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the ground, in caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The 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 during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, rather than 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 mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, 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 major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a longer area at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

Instead it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick function as a drip course 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 much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

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 great, but it is not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood 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.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by 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 must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management issues due to the amount of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were generally centered within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of this time 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 quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround as well as the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased by means 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 made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept 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 heat the air. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the fire is burning. In this time period the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.how to build a fireplace