Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, within caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.
Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general use immediately, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts 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 supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.Historically they were used 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 other flue allows exhaust to escape.
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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated 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 could pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not great for you.Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal 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 gas fuel sources. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality control issues due to the amount of moisture they discharge 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 from the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.
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As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.
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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.
By the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround and the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.Shop Style Selections 5Piece Steel Fireplace Tool Set at Lowes.com Video
Some fireplace units 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 lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the air. The ideal method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.
Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high 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 stage the initial heat is provided through a big glass while the flame is burning. In this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only offer heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace tool set
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