How to Build a StoneVeneer Fireplace Surround This Old House

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burnt with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled 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 reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also 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 up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended 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 stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of prosperity, which to a degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry 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 base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

Related Images with How to Build a StoneVeneer Fireplace Surround This Old House

Eldorado Stone Stone Siding, Brick Veneer, Stone Fireplace Surrounds and Outdoor Living

On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

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

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, some states and local businesses have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management issues due to the quantity of moisture they discharge into the room air, and oxygen detector 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 area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

Stone Fireplace Mantels Stone Surrounds American Pacific

AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in recent Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more people to collect around it.

Barrington Classic Stone Fireplace Mantel MantelsDirect.com

Stone Fireplace Surrounds Photo Gallery And Ideas Regarding Stacked Surround Design 17

Many defects 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 period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround and the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

Stone Fireplace Surrounds Photo Gallery And Ideas Regarding Stacked Surround Design 17 Video

Some fireplace components include a blower which transfers 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 by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept although 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 heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.stone fireplace surround