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Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, 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 disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burned with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out via a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use instantly, 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. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer area at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Instead 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 at this time have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the idea 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 vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks 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 good, but it is not good for you.

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

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

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. Other wider accessories can consist of log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

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

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Some fireplace components include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire 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 efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. The best method to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed 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 initial heat is provided through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then equally radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel shelf