Fireplaces

A fireplace is an architectural element consisting of a space designed to contain a fire, generally for heating but sometimes also for cooking. more...

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The space where the fire is contained is called a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape the building. While most fireplaces are constructed in building interiors, sometimes outdoor fireplaces are created for evening warmth, outdoor cooking or decorative purposes.

Uses

In colder climates throughout the world, the fireplace or hearth has traditionally been a central feature of the household, as it gives warmth to aid survival through an extended winter. The sensation of direct heat, and the mesmerizing leaps and flickers of a wood fire, make its use enjoyable in cold conditions even today.

As a result, people gather around a fireplace for conversation, planning, or sex in a more intimate fashion. After the workday, it is often the place a family meets at night before retiring to sleep. One famous use of this tradition in the United States during the Great Depression was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "fireside chats", weekly radio addresses in which he made use of the family gathering time to state his views on issues of national importance.

Types of fireplace

In many places, coal, wood or peat burning fires are being replaced by cleaner and often safer natural gas and electric systems. Some governmental agencies have placed a partial ban on solid fuel burning fireplaces based upon air pollution concerns. Gas fireplaces very often burn off a small amount of their fuel in a flickering display meant to recall that of a wood fire. Alternatively, flame-shaped paper streamers wave vertically in the air, held up by the updraft produced by a heating element.

Many lower priced new homes are not equipped with a fireplace at all, its heating function long since taken over by central heating and its social function by the home entertainment center. Some fireplaces have been closed off not allowing them to be used, either the top of the chimney has a concrete slab installed over it or the bottom has had a board nailed to it. This is so the fireplace doesn't suck out warm air. Prefab fireplaces have become popular because of their lower construction cost but offer a limited range of sizes and styles. Brick or stone fireplaces have greater durability and can be designed to meet exact specifications for opening size, depth, and facing material. They also cost significantly more to construct.

A fireplace may consist of some or all of the following elements: foundation, hearth, firebox, facing, ashdump door, chimney crane, cleanout door, grate or iron bars, lintel, lintel bar, overmantle, breast, damper, smoke chamber, throat, flue, chimney chase, crown, cap or shroud, and spark arrestor.

Read more at Wikipedia.org