20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. 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 did not come into general use instantly, however, since 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 room for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based on the design.

Historically they have been used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.

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20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function 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 at the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which 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 good for you.

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. In the USA, some states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture they release into the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas Home Design Ideas, Pictures, Remodel and Decor

AccessoriesFor the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease 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 made from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a big glass window while the flame is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel decorating ideas