Mantle piece and grate designs have changed but the essential structural parts of a fireplace have not drastically modified for centuries. The first aggregate of a big stone or brick opening with a chimney built over it developed from the obvious fact that smoke rises, rather than from a scientific appreciation of how a well-designed flue system works. Hence early wood and later coal-burning fires were awfully inefficient and it wasn’t until a certain Benjamin Thompson ( often referred to as Count Rumford ) produced his contention on the rules of fireplace design in 1799 that smaller grates and enhancements in the internal shape of the openings were introduced.

A brick or stone enclosure forms the foundation of the fireside. Variously called the fireplace opening or recess or builders opening, it could be set level with the wall or built out into the room, forming a chimney breast. This chimney breast rises thru the peak of the house, emerging thru the roof to form a chimney stack. At the apex of the opening the gather and flue mix to carry the smoke up the chimney. If the chimney is shared by several fireplaces on different floors, it may have more than one flue.

The masonry over the fireplace opening is supported by a lintel or a brick arch. Old inglenook fireplaces used large oak beams, while a strong iron strap usually supports an early brick arch. Later on fireplaces may have a straight arch supported by angle iron, and by the twentieth century cast cement lintels were normal.

A hearth, assembled from non-combustible materials like stone or tile-faced concrete, comes out into the room to give protection to the floor from falling ashes. In the majority old houses the hearth was set flush with the floor, although occasionally a superimposed one was employed to raise the level. The space in the fireside opening, known as the back hearth, is generally level with the hearth itself. A dog grate for burning wood or coal can be placed on this back hearth. However, by the mid-nineteenth century the mass produced cast-iron register grate which filled the opening, had grown to be the style.

To complete the assembly, a mantelpiece or mantel or fireplace surround, as it is regularly called today is fitted to border the grate or fireplace opening. The mantel could be built from stone, slate, marble, wood or cast-iron. The walls around it may be finished with wood paneling, or more commonly with plaster, and in some cases the mantel extends upwards to form a formidable chimneypiece. Mirrored overmantels were introduced in the late eighteenth century, and these became the classic feature of Victorian sitting rooms.

Within this hearth an open fire burning wood or coal is a cheerful sight, but if it’s your only source of heat, as it was for hundreds of years, this romantic vision can shortly fade especially if the fire does not burn properly. Getting a fire started and keeping it land then becomes a challenge, if not a pain. For wood and coal fires to burn well a fine supply of air is needed under the grate, in addition to a strategy of escape for the hot gases and smoke. With the fuel safely controlled within the hearth opening on a grate, free circulation of air is achievable and waste ash can fall thru the grate so the fire is not stifled. If the chimney is insufficient or the flow of air is restricted the fire will not operate effectively . To discover the righ ones be certain to glance through all the chief electric fireplace logs and electric logs manufacturer sites.

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