Feature Project: Chimneys and Hearths News from Inglenook Tile

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burned with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, since they were more expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a lengthier place at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and from the construction. The shallow design 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 to a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time were a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, 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 casting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

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

In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management problems because of the amount of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

Trent Marble Fireplace Hearth Back Panel

AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

A DIY stenciled fireplace hearth floor using the Augusta Tile Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils

AirStone Fireplace Makeover Make Life Lovely

Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big 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 lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 parts, the surround as well as the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal which 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 complicated concept 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 air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The best method to estimate the output signal 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 at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example 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 atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace hearth