Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area on very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a sign of wealth, which to a degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending on the design.Historically they were 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 (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house 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 often a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.
Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not good for you.Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.
In the USA, some states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.
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As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.
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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. 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 an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.
By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to houses.Wood Mantels, Fireplace Surrounds, and Shelving Video
Some fireplace units include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although 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 heat the air. The ideal method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.
Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. In this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then equally radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.wood fireplace mantels
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