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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or in 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 generated toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general use instantly, 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 chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area on top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern kitchens.

Rather it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

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

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can 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, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture that they release in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands. Other wider accessories can include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold 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 individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was 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 thought to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the air. The ideal way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. 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 modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel shelf