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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against rock walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were more expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer place at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was 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 foundation for modern kitchens.

Instead it relied on simple designs 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 were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending on the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.

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Amazon.com: Pearl Mantels 12048 Windsor Fireplace Mantel Surround, 48Inch, Unfinished: Home

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

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the amount of moisture they discharge into the room atmosphere, 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 totally sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in recent Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all of 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 used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space 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 flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be made 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 heat the atmosphere. The best method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass window 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 second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantle