|
Top
of Page
Andiron:
One of a pair of horizontal iron bars upon which wood is supported
in an open hearth fireplace. The oldest of fireplace furnishings,
andirons were used widely from the Late Iron Age. The andirons
stands on short legs and usually has a vertical guard bar
at the front to prevent logs from rolling off, thus giving
it a somewhat doglike appearance (hence the alternative name,
Firedog)
Ash Dump:
The space into which the ashes are dumped. It is a non-combustible
storage compartment behind or below the firebox, which helps
keep the fireplace clean without carrying ashes through the
house.
Bellows:
A mechanical contrivance for creating a jet of air, consisting
usually of a hinged box with flexible sides, which expands
to draw in air through an inward opening valve and contracts
to expel the air through a nozzle. Bellows were invented in
the European Middle Ages and were commonly used to speed combustion,
as in a blacksmith's or ironworker's forge.
BTU-British Thermal Unit:
A unit for measuring energy, equal to the amount of energy
needed to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water by
1 degree Fahrenheit.
Butane:
A colorless, odorless, non-toxic gas; generally used in gas
matches and lighters.
Chenets:
Not to be confused with fireplace andirons, Chenets are distinguished
by the low bar across the front connecting the two ends. You
can think of a Chenet as a pair of andirons and a fender combined.
The effect is harmonious and handsome.
Chimney:
A structure designed to carry off smoke from a fireplace or
furnace. A chimney also induces and maintains a draft that
provides air to the fire. In Western Europe before the 12th
century, heating fires were almost invariably placed in the
middle of a room, and chimneys were therefore rare. Most of
the characteristic forms of modern chimneys originated in
northern Europe.
Chimney Breast:
The stone, brick or cement structure that projects into a
room and contains the fireplace flue.
Chimneypiece:
Originally, a hood, projecting from the wall over a grate,
built to catch the smoke and direct it up to the chimney flu.
It came to mean any decorative development of the same type
for the same purpose -e.g. a mantel, or mantelpiece.
Club Fender:
For centuries, gentlemen have met at inns or taverns and gathered
benches around the fireplace to socialize. Eventually many
of these "Gentlemen's' Rooms" became exclusive clubs
and the benches they sat upon became known as club fenders.
The Club Fender combines the function of a fender with the
comfort a seat in front of the fire.
Coal Grates a.k.a. Basket Grate:
A freestanding four sided metal basket in which coal or wood
is burned in a fireplace. Becoming prevalent in the early
18th century as sea coal began to replace wood as a fuel.
Damper:
A door like device that regulates the air passing from the
fireplace into the flu. The Damper Must Be Fully Opened when
burning both wood and gas logs in the fireplace. The damper
can be closed when the fireplace is not in use, thus preventing
drafts.
Direct Vent:
Method of venting appliance whereby all air for combustion
is derived directly from the outside atmosphere and all flue
gases are discharged directly to the outside atmosphere.
Exhaust system for Direct Vent fireplaces that can be power
or gravity induced. No full height chimney is required.
Dog Grate:
A freestanding basket grate, for a fireplace.
Escutions a.k.a. Valve Covers:
A protective or ornamental plate or flange (as around a key
hole).
Fender:
A guard in front of a fireplace to prevent hot coals and logs
from damaging the surrounding floor or carpet.
Fireback:
A thick iron plate placed at the back of a hearth to protect
the wall and reflect heat into the room.
Firebox:
The chamber, or area where the fire is built. Generally the
firebox is built with fire brick laid with thin joints. The
side walls are slanted slightly to radiate heat into the room.
The rear wall is sloped or curved to provide an upward draft.
Fire Irons:
Fireplace tools, usually a shovel, poker and tongs. Sometimes
also referring to Firedog or Andiron.
Firedog:
One of a pair of supports for logs in a fireplace. (See Andiron)
Firelabra:
Similar to candelabra but designed specifically to be placed
inside the fireplace to burn candles upon.
Fireplace:
An open recess for holding a fire inside a dwelling, at the
base of a chimney; a hearth. Used for heating and often for
cooking. The first fireplaces developed when medieval houses
and castles were equipped with chimneys to carry away smoke.
Fireplace Masonry:
A fireplace constructed of fire brick and brick or stone supported
on a noncombustible load-bearing foundation.
Fireplace Prefabricated:
A fireplace constructed with metal casings incorporating insulation
and steel or refractory linings. No stone or brick is used
in the construction of the fireplace or chimney.
Fireplace Furnishings:
Typically called accessories, more correctly referred to,
as Furnishings, these are all the elements adorning the fireplace.
From andirons and screens to gas logs and firebacks these
are all used to furnish the fireplace, as one would use furniture
to furnish a house and pots and pans to furnish a kitchen.
Fireplace Inserts:
A sealed, vented unit installed partially or fully in the
firebox of a masonry fireplace, and which vents into the fireplace
chimney, to maximize heating efficiencies of the fireplace.
Designed as either a gas burning unit or for burning wood
Fireplace Inserts seal off the fireplace from the interior
of the dwelling, thus providing heat to the dwelling without
the loss of combustion air.
Firesets a.k.a. Toolsets:
Fireplace tools, usually a shovel, poker and tongs or brush.
Designed to tend a woodfire these tools are found both hanging
by the fireplace and on stands upon the fireplace hearth.
Typically made of iron or steel to endure the fire today's
fireplace tools are cast in brass and bronze allowing for
more diverse styles and aesthetics.
Flue:
A passage way inside the chimney that allows smoke and combustion
gases from the fire to exit out of the top of the fireplace
and vent to the outside of the dwelling. Each fireplace should
have an independent flue, entirely free from other openings
or connections.
Folding Screens:
Similar to hinged room screens, Folding Screens have at least
three (3) flat mesh panels, hinged at the corners. The center
panel of the screen is about three quarters the width of the
fireplace opening. Side panels are much smaller and fold to
the face of the fireplace. For the best spark protection Folding
Screens should be four to five inches taller then the opening
of the fireplace.
Franklin Stove:
A type of wood-burning stove, invented by Benjamin Franklin
(c. 1740), that was used to warm frontier dwellings, farmhouses,
and urban homes for more than 200 years.
Gas Logs:
Vented: Gas
logs appeared as early as 1928 in the Sears & Roebuck
catalog. Gas Logs are made out of a cast refectory ceramic.
Originally log stacks were all one unit. In the early 1950s
log stacks were made by stacking individual cast logs more
as one would a woodfire. Early burners were simple cast iron
pipes with holes allowing gas to escape. In 1958 the Rasmussen
Gas Log Company developed the first sand pan gas burner which
is widely in use today. Gas Log sets provide ambience and
coziness while providing a full-bodied flame. The chimney
damper must be wide open when the gas log set is burning.
Un-Vented a.k.a. Vent-free: Developed
in the early 1990s with the advent of the Oxygen Depletion
Sensor (ODS) Un-Vented gas logs are designed for heat efficiency.
With the ability to be used without any outside venting
Un-Vented sets are required to burn extremely clean, thus
minimizing exhaust gases. The national design standards
limit the amount of gas consumption, so ambience is secondary
to heat efficiency.
Glass Doors a.k.a. Glass Enclosures:
Invented in 1951 as a tempered glass fireplace screen by Thermo-Rite,
the Glass Door provided new amenities never seen before on
a fireplace. With the use of tempered glass to with stand
the heat of woodfires glass doors provide the ultimate in
spark protection. With the fireplace now completely closed
off heat loss up the chimney is greatly reduced making the
fireplace much more efficient. As important as the glass door
is to energy savings it has also made a contribution to fireplace
aesthetics adding a modern look to the fireplace.
Grate:
A metal open basket in which coal or wood is burned in a fireplace.
Hearth:
The floor of a fireplace, usually extending out into the room.
There is both an inner hearth and an outer hearth. The inner
hearth may be made of fire-resistant brick and holds the burning
logs: the outer hearth may be of brick, tile, marble or other
noncombustible material.
Hearth Rug:
A small rug either made of wool or that is chemically treated,
resistant to burning, placed in front of the fireplace to
protect the flooring from burning embers and sparks.
Hob:
A ledge on the back or side of a fireplace or grate for warming
a pot or kettle.
Hob Grate a.k.a. Bath Stove:
A cast-iron grate in which the fire basket is supported off
the ground, between two flat hobs. The flat front is usually
cast with shallowed ornament or reeding. Termed a Bath Stove
in the United States.
Lintel:
A Structural member over the fireplace opening that supports
the masonry. It may be of steel, wood or stone.
Lumminarium:
A style of portable outdoor "fireplace" that burns
either gas or gel fuel to create a yellow flame fire.
Mantel:
The Frame surrounding a fireplace; often used to denote just
the shelf (mantel shelf).
Mesh Doors a.k.a. Mesh Enclosures:
A derivative of the Glass Door, the Mesh Door has the same
easy access and superb spark protection as do Glass Doors,
only with mesh panels instead of glass panels. This change
eliminates the energy savings found with Glass Doors and provides
for a greater diversity of aesthetics.
Natural Gas:
Colorless, highly flammable gas found in porous geologic formations
beneath the earth's surface. Consists mainly of methane and
is lighter than air.
Overmantel:
A decorative treatment above a fireplace, often incorporating
a painting or mirror.
Pennsylvanian Stove a.k.a. Franklin
Stove:
A type of wood-burning stove, invented by Benjamin Franklin
(c. 1740), that was used to warm frontier dwellings, farmhouses,
and urban homes for more than 200 years.
Pilaster:
A flat rectangular classical column fixed against a wall,
or used to frame a doorway or fireplace.
Poker:
A metal rod for stirring the fire.
Propane Gas (L.P.):
Colorless, odorless, and non-toxic gas separated from wet
natural gas, light crude oil, and oil refinery gases. Heavier
than air Liquefied Propane is composed predominantly of following
hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof: propane, propylene, normal
butane or isobutane and butylenes.
Register Grate:
A fire grate with a movable iron plate in the flue to regulate
the updraft.
Recessed Screens:
A mesh curtain attached at the top inside of the fireplace.
Recessed Screens work in much the same way a window curtain
does. The Recessed Screen provides the greatest protection
against sparks.
Rumford Fireplace:
In 1795, Count Rumford set forth the principals for the construction
of an efficient fireplace. Rumford realized that heat from
a fireplace is radiant heat that reflected into the room.
The Rumford fireplace has a shallow inner hearth (firebox)
and high and wide front opening (usually taller than wide).
These proportions keep the fire near the front and the high
and wide dimensions allow for maximum heat radiation.
Shovel:
A hand implement consisting of a broad scoop or more or less
hollowed out blade with a handle used to lift and move woodfire
ashes.
Spark Arrestor:
A flat single panel of mesh placed on the hearth in front
of the fireplace to provide protection from sparks. Spark
Arrestors can be of very simple design and fit tight against
the fireplace opening or they may be decorative and ornate
standing in front of the opening.
Spark Guard:
Similar to Spark Arrestors, Spark Guards are flat mesh panels
with top and side returns that bow to meet the face of the
fireplace.
Tongs:
Any of numerous grasping devices consisting commonly of two
pieces joined at one end by a pivot or hinged like scissors.
More commonly found in blacksmith's shops, tongs found their
way to fireplaces to adjust burning logs.
Toolsets a.k.a. Firesets:
Fireplace tools, usually a shovel, poker and tongs or brush.
Designed to tend a woodfire these tools are found both hanging
by the fireplace and on stands upon the fireplace hearth.
Typically made of iron or steel to endure the fire today's
fireplace tools are cast in brass and bronze allowing for
more diverse styles and aesthetics.
Valve Covers a.k.a. Escutions:
A protective or ornamental plate or flange (as around a key
hole).
Top
of Page
|
