40 Christmas Fireplace Mantel Decoration Ideas

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, in caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval 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 during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, as they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

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

Instead it depended on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 at this time were a sign of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, 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 foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a throat, 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 casting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far greater 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 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.

Types 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.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management 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 place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to 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 current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire dogs, all 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 metal firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were generally based within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 parts, the surround and the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog Video

Some fireplace components include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the air. The best method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you detect 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 requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel decorating ideas