A Brief History and Usage
In the earlier times, the fireplaces were used for warming, cooking and even for laundry purposes. Today, modern fireplaces are mostly used for heating the surroundings and augmenting the existing interior architecture of the building. These fireplaces are built on a foundation and most of these have a hearth and a mantelpiece, where one can place decorative objects or pictures etc.
Protecting Indoor Modern Fireplace from Weather Elements
The exterior design of indoor fireplaces essentially includes projecting brickwork or brick crown that prevents the rainwater from flowing down the external walls and thus damaging the fireplace. The chimneys are provided with a cap or a hood that keeps the rainwater from entering the fireplace. Most of the modern day masonry chimneys soak most of the rainwater even during a torrent and keeps the fireplace dry thereby preventing any extensive damage to the structure and its performance.
Types of Indoor modern fireplaces
There are many different types of indoor modern fireplaces that can be placed inside a house. The most commonly used modern fireplaces are:
Masonry Fireplace – These fireplaces are made of stones or bricks and are strong robust structures. The most common fuels for these types of fireplaces are wood, propane based fuels and natural gas. Sheet Metal Fireplace – These are manufactured fireplaces and are most made of aluminium or cast iron and can withstand high degrees of heat. These fireplaces can also be fuelled with wood, gas or charcoal. Electric Fireplaces – These fireplaces offer an excellent replacement for wood or gas burning fireplaces. The best part is that these fireplaces don’t produce any smoke or exhaust removing the need for chimney or flue. To give it a feel of a wood burning fireplace, the fireplace can have wooden log inserts placed inside them. Vent less Fireplaces – These are also known as room-venting fireplaces and are duct free. These fireplaces usually use gel, natural gas or liquid propane as a fuel for burning.
Accessorizing the Modern Fireplaces
There are many accessories available for indoor modern fireplaces that often vary from place to place and from culture to culture as well. The indoor fireplaces can often be adorned with iron grates, retrofitting with log inserts, placement of fireguards, pellet boxes, and by using andirons. Many of these accessories are used to accelerate fuel burning by gathering the fuel properly. In some cases, fire backs made from heavy metal are used for proper radiation of heat and it also protects the backside of the indoor fireplace. Fire grates are used to retain and gather fuel for the fireplace and helps in efficient burning. These grates are made of iron bars and are made in the form of a frame. Use of fenders as an accessory for fireplaces are quite common these days. It serves a useful purpose of collecting soot and ash. There is also a wide variety of fire tending tools available in the market like fire pokers, tongs for removing embers, shovels for removing soot and ash, and brushes for sifting wood from ash.
