Donard 54 Inch Solid Oak Fireplace Surround

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burned with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and 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, 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 cellar and venting a lengthier area at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In 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 now have been a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending upon the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, 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. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, 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 projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some 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 different studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health threat. 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.

In the USA, some states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the amount of moisture they release into 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 from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, 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 set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories can consist of log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were generally based within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced by means 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 are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older 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 modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a big glass while the flame is burning. In this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace surround