Rustic, Recycled Natural Fall Fireplace Mantel Ideas

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame 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 had a centrally situated hearth, where an open flame burnt with the smoke rising to the vent 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 throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were more expensive to build and maintain.

The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a lengthier place on very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of prosperity, 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 the relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, depending upon the design.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry 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 base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

Related Images with Rustic, Recycled Natural Fall Fireplace Mantel Ideas

Rustic Fireplace Mantel With Carved Oak Leaves

On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting 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 out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated 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 can pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A few kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management issues due to the amount of moisture they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

Fireplace Mantels

AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to catch and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary 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 centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

Rustic Mantel Shelves Fireplace Mantels MantelsDirect.com

Fireplace Mantels and Rustic Mantel Shelves – Antique Woodworks

Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 parts, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

Fireplace Mantels and Rustic Mantel Shelves – Antique Woodworks Video

Some fireplace components include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. 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 altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.rustic fireplace mantels