20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, in caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burned with the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

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 efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer place on top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the room. 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 into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the design.

Historically they were 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 alternative flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, 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 frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A few 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. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management problems due to the quantity of moisture they discharge in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

20 Great Fireplace Mantel Decorating Ideas laurel home blog

AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, 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 in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool racks.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a space, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the air. The best way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace mantel decorating ideas