Essential Fireplace Accessories HGTV

Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burned with all 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 rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage instantly, however, as they were expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the venting and airflow system. The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made 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 warmth projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern kitchens.

Instead it relied on simple layouts with small 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 some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, 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. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which 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 far greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that divides 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 great, but it is not great for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. In the United States, some states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the amount of moisture they release in the room air, 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 outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 components, 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 built of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed 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 air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced with the use of a fireback, a sheet 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 complex notion 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. The ideal method to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof 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 adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace remodel