All About Fireplaces and Fireplace Surrounds DIY

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burnt 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 wouldn't enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a wall or roof. These can be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage instantly, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

Instead it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree remains 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 for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.

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On the exterior there's often a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your 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 in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.

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Many defects 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 was 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 composed of two parts, the surround as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with decorative 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 air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced 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 made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. The best way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the initial heat is offered through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace surrounds