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Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, within 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 annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in 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 made it feasible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general usage instantly, however, as they were 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 that 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 at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the room. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

Rather it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. 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, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a neck, 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 from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

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

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical 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 restricting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality control problems because of the quantity of moisture they discharge in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to 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 collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style 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, as opposed to their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower that transfers 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 is also increased by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the flame 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 complicated concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best method to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.modern fireplace