Archive for the 'Fireplace Designs' Category
Is your fireplace keeping you warm and cosy? – Tips for better heat.
Friday, September 26th, 2008 by PyroWith the growing trend in restoring to use those fireplaces that have been bricked or boarded up, it is important that these restored fireplaces and chimneys are working efficiently. For wood or coal burning fires to burn well, a good supply of air is required along with a chimney to expel the hot exhaust gases and smoke. Also the fuel should be held in a grate clear of the hearth floor allowing full circulation of the air and waste ash to fall through, so as not to stifle the fire. If the chimney or flue is inadequate or the flow of air insufficient, the fire will not function effectively.
In his thesis on the principles of fireplace design published in1799, Count Rumford emphasized the importance of the size of the flue compared with the size of the fireplace opening. He recommended that the cross-sectional area of the flue should be about a tenth of the size of the opening. However, fireplaces tended to be smaller after the mid nineteenth century. Modern flue liner manufacturers favor a ratio of one to seven, and there are sizing charts published that give details of current standards.
If your fire smokes or won’t burn properly, see if opening a window improves matters. If it does, you need better ventilation in the room. One solution is to install a window vent, although this may cause a troublesome cross draft. A much more efficient form of ventilation is either a single ducted vent set into the floor in front of the fireplace, or twin ducted vents set into the floor or external walls on each side of the chimney breast.
When wood and coal are burned, flammable gases, tarry substances, acids and dust are given off. However, because domestic stoves are relatively inefficient not all of these substances are consumed. Instead, they rise up the chimney and some of them condense on the inside of the flue. Unburned carbon combines with these tars and acids creating soot; which builds up over a period of time thus reducing the size of the flue. It is important to have regularly used chimneys swept at least twice a year, ideally before, during and at the end of the heating season and the local trade directories contain details of fully qualified and suitably insured sweeps. A soot laden flue is a fire hazard, since the unburned elements of the soot can ignite, causing a chimney fire which can reach high temperatures and damage the chimney.
If a flue is too large, its size can be reduced to improve its efficiency by the fitting of a liner. A variety of methods and materials are used, including flue liners made of flexible stainless steel, ceramic, lightweight concrete sections, or concrete cast in situ. Other ways of reducing the fireplace opening in order to improve fire efficiency is to raise the level of the hearth or to fit a baffle across the top of the opening. If raising the hearth level or adding a baffle are not practical or unsightly then it may be worth asking a fireplace specialist whether fitting a metal smoke hood or canopy in the opening is the best solution.
Richard Banks is a contractor with many years experience in home remodelling and improvements. For more information on fireplaces visit Fireplace Capital
Outdoor Heating Systems Bring a Summer Feel to Winter Backyard Entertaining
Friday, September 26th, 2008 by PyroWhile many elements come into play in backyard entertaining, one element that shouldn’t is the weather. Cold weather shouldn’t put the kibosh on your next outdoor party or get together, but too often the forecast play a major role in the quality of your outdoor living. Short of huddling under patio umbrellas all night long, Patio Discounts believes the key to a backyard party that lasts year round is a great outdoor heating system. Our amazing selection of gas heaters, electric heaters, and electric fireplaces will go a long way towards turning a cold spell to a hot snap in no time at all.
Patio Discounts offers a number of heaters sure to suit the specifics of your patio or outdoor entertaining space. Electric heaters are an amazing choice in that they are both convenient and cost effective. They can be permanently installed, eliminating the need for storage, and are the epitome of an easy installation. Simply plug it in and let your household currents do all the work. Best of all, you’ll escape the types of fumes sometimes associated with gas or propane heaters, enjoying an odorless heat that is noticeable only in the comfort that it brings.
Curling up beside a nice fire on a cold winter’s night is one of the simple pleasures of life, and while you won’t be curling up next to it an electric fireplace for your patio can have the same soothing effect. Great looking and cost efficient, an electric fireplace is often the final piece in turning an everyday patio into a true entertainment hub. A number of stylish fireplace options are available that are certain to be compatible with the style you’ve chosen for your patio. There’s more than one way to turn up the heat during the cold winter months, and an electric fireplace courtesy of Patio Discounts is at the top of the list.
Summer is just around the corner, but cold temperatures won’t be far behind. Discover amazing discounts now on the heating systems you’ll depend on when colder weather comes around again. Make sure your patio and backyard is open year round for fun with family and friends, and bring a touch of summer to outdoor entertaining in the winter months.
Mike Workman is the owner and operator of Patio Discounts.com. Heaters, electric fireplaces, electric heaters, fire pits, patio umbrellas and other outdoor products are offered at Patio Discounts furniture.
Attractive Japanese Landscape Design
Thursday, September 25th, 2008 by PyroEasy To Maintain Japanese Landscape Design
After careful design, planting and arranging your Japanese landscape design there would be little to do accept sit back and enjoy the tranquility it creates. The garden should include some traditional Japanese stonework, a trickling water feature or pond, as well as the groomed evergreens.
Some of the most beautiful Japanese gardens have some type of water feature, which is often a small pond or stream if room allows. Water in this type of garden helps create the overall look and feel of peace and tranquility, making it a vital element. To not only complement the look but to actually make the water more functional, you could consider a Japanese garden bridge.
Japanese Garden Bridge
With a Japanese garden bridge, you would actually walk over the water features or simply stand or sit on the bridge to soak up the gorgeous view. After all, a Japanese garden design also features tons of greenery in the form of plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees, bamboo fences, waterfalls, statues, lanterns, lily pads, pebble walkways, and so on. In fact, for the larger gardens, some will also feature a teahouse, which is authentic.
The Japanese garden bridge is typically constructed from wood or stone with a design that fits with the Japanese style. In Japan, these bridges are used to connect a shore with an island or in some cases, even to connect one island with another island. Of course, in a smaller residential Japanese landscape design, the Japanese garden bridge goes along with a strolling garden, again to go over a pond or stream.
Dry Japanese gardens consist of stone arrangements and gravel symbolizing the ocean and islands. It may also include sand that has been carefully raked. Traditionally five large stones will represent the five basic elements…sky, earth, wind, water, and fire. It is very traditional to have stone figures of Buddah or various animals representing longevity, happiness, or peace, etc.
Where to Find Japanese Garden Supplies
Once you have carfeully planned and drawn out the design of your garden you will need a shopping list of all the components you would like to include in your garden. You can look online and order items or find them locally at a garden supply shop.
Once you have added the bridge, you can look at other Japanese garden supplies to complete the overall look. Again, lanterns, statues, bamboo fences, deer chasers, waterfalls, pebbles, and stepping stones are all common, along with lots of beautiful flowers and plants. If you shop around online or even at your local home and garden center, chances are you will find a wonderful selection without spending a fortune.
Get more information on landscaping visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas
Fireplace Category
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 by PyroNothing adds warmth and relaxation like a fireplace, firepit or stove. Whether gas, wood, electric, pellet, indoors, or outdoors; your options are almost limitless. You will find something to work in every situation and for all budgets.
Add Elegance To Your Backyard With Outdoor Stone Fireplaces
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 by PyroAdding a stone fireplace to your backyard space provides warmth and elegance. While bonfires and chimneas are excellent starters, real stone fireplaces are more elegant, long lasting and they will likely increase the value of your home. Adding a real stone fireplace to your patio will simply make it inviting. Additionally, a real fireplace is safer and longer lasting than chimneas or fire pits.
How can you obtain the elegance and richness of a stone fireplace at a reasonable price? The answer is thin veneer. Real stone veneer can be placed as a facing on fire worthy bricks or fire stones and nobody will guess you did not build the whole fireplace with solid stones. Why? Well, simply because thin stone veneers are made with real stones. They are not cultured stones. This means they are more fire resistant, they resist chipping and fading. And even if they do get chipped, the color is solid right through the stone because they are real stones.
Why Add a Fireplace to Your Outdoors?
Fireplaces can extend the seasons. With a cozy fireplace you and your family and friends can spend cool spring evenings and late fall nights by a cozy fire outside. Just imagine drinking hot tea or cocoa, roasting marshmallows and eating smores by a real stone fireplace in your outdoor living space. You’ll feel like you are indoors, all warm and toasty, yet you can enjoy the smells and sounds of the gorgeous outdoor evenings with your loved ones. Winter days can also be pleasant to spend by your outdoor stone fireplace if you live in milder climates.
Cool summer nights can make wonderful dinner parties. A stone fireplace can set the tone for the entire evening. Turn on some pleasant music and let the crackling of the fire draw your guests together. Or sit out in the quiet by yourself or with your loved ones and enjoy a quiet evening only interrupted by the gentle crackle of a real fireplace.
Unlike fire pits or chimneas, stone fireplaces can be safer for friends and family to be around. Fire pits can be hazardous to small children while chimneas can be easily knocked over. However, a well built fireplace with an iron screen can protect your family from sparks and while the stone walls can protect people from getting burned if they accidently lean against it.
How To Use Veneer
Natural thin stone veneer is used exactly like fake stones. Simply build a fireplace with cheap fire bricks or fire stones according to the manufacturer’s directions. Then install the stone veneer on the outside of the structure. Nobody will be able to tell if you used 1 and ½ inch veneer or 10 inch stones. Your secret will be safe and your pocket book will be fatter.
Stone veneer comes in a wide variety of styles from square cuts, round cuts, and even natural looking stones. They cost a lot less to purchase and are easier to install than real fireplace stones. You can choose form a variety of colors and textures too. They look like real stones because they are real stones quarried from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona pits.
Stone veneer is shipped in easy to handle corrugated plastic boxes. They are just as easy to install and maintain as fake veneers. Simply prepare the surface, apply the mortar, then apply the stone and mortar in between.
Adding A Stone Fireplace
If you already have a fireplace in your backyard or patio or even if you’ve been considering installing one, a natural thin stone veneer is the way to go. You won’t have to replace an old fireplace, simply “thin stone veneer it” instead.
But above all else, one of the greatest benefits is that you will have less work and less cost when you build a new fireplace by using this stone. A natural stone fireplace will add elegance, safety and a sense of class to your patio or backyard. Minimize your costs today by using natural thin stone veneer when you build your stone fireplace.
Elegant Stone Fireplaces are extremely durable, yet affordable when built with natural stone veneer. View the many different types of Natural Stone Veneer that Halquist Stone has to offer. For more information, call (262) 246-9000 or visit HalquistStone.com to request a free brochure.
Fireplace Design – A real burning issue.
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 by PyroMantlepiece and grate styles have altered but the basic structural elements of a fireplace have not radically changed for hundreds of years. The early combination of a large stone or brick opening with a chimney built over it evolved from the obvious fact that smoke rises, rather than from a scientific understanding of how a well-designed flue system works. Consequently early wood and later coal-burning fires were very inefficient and it was not until a certain Benjamin Thompson (also known as Count Rumford) produced his thesis on the principles of fireplace design in 1799 that smaller grates and improvements in the internal shape of the openings were introduced.
A brick or stone enclosure forms the basis of the fireplace. Variously known as the fireplace opening or recess or builders opening, it may be set flush with the wall or built out into the room, forming a chimney breast. This chimney breast rises through the height of the house, emerging through the roof to form a chimney stack. At the top of the opening the gather and flue combine to carry the smoke up the chimney. If the chimney is shared by several fireplaces on different floors, it may contain more than one flue.
The masonry over the fireplace opening is supported by a lintel or a brick arch. Old inglenook fireplaces used massive oak beams, whereas a strong iron strap usually supports an early brick arch. Later fireplaces may have a straight arch supported by angle iron, and by the twentieth century cast concrete lintels were the norm.
A hearth, constructed from non-combustible materials such as stone or tile-faced concrete, projects out into the room to protect the floor from falling ashes. In most old houses the hearth was set flush with the floor, although sometimes a superimposed one was used to raise the level. The space within the fireplace opening, known as the back hearth, is usually 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 become the fashion.
To complete the assembly, a mantelpiece or mantel – or fireplace surround, as it is often called today – is fitted to frame the grate or fireplace opening. The mantel may be constructed 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 an impressive chimneypiece. Mirrored overmantels were introduced in the late eighteenth century, and these became the classic feature of Victorian sitting rooms.
Within this fireplace an open fire burning wood or coal is a cheerful sight, but if it is your only source of heat, as it was for centuries, this romantic image can soon fade especially if the fire does not burn properly. Getting a fire started and keeping it alight then becomes a challenge, if not a chore. For wood and coal fires to burn well a good supply of air is needed under the grate, as well as a means of escape for the hot gases and smoke. With the fuel safely contained within the fireplace opening on a grate, free circulation of air is possible and waste ash can fall through the grate so the fire is not stifled. If the chimney is inadequate or the flow of air is restricted the fire will not function effectively.
Richard Banks is a contractor with many years experience in home remodelling and improvements. For more information on fireplaces visit Fireplace Capital
