Modern Fireplaces: Rustic + Refined Studio MM Architect

Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, in caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, as they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Rather it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, depending on the design.

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

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated 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 significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

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

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control problems due to the quantity of moisture they discharge into the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between states, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an 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 and the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be 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 complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the air. The ideal method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplaces