25 Fireplace Decorating Ideas with Gas Logs, Electric Logs, and Glass Rocks

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, within caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burnt with the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out via a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use 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 room for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of prosperity, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based on the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, 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. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (used in kitchen and laundry 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's often a corbeled brick crown, in which 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 out of the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger problem 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.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. There are also air quality control problems due to the quantity of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast range of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool racks.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transports 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 made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're 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 requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is offered 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 several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace insert