A fireplace is a very popular element of the interior of a country house. It is unlikely that anything else will be able to so clearly express the individuality of its inhabitants, and nothing else can deliver indescribable pleasure. A fireplace is by no means a trivial source of heat. Much more important is its role as an unsurpassed tool for emotional unloading, relieving accumulated stress, relaxation.
Wood fireplaces
A similar role is undoubtedly best managed by a traditional wood hearth. What can act as soothingly as a detached contemplation of a living fire fluttering under the arch ...
A purely practically wood-burning fireplace is unpretentious, safe, fuel for it is inexpensive and affordable.
Electric fireplaces
Electric fireplaces are more decorative than practical. But they are also very popular because of the ease of handling and the ability to leave them unattended.
Electric fireplaces are equipped with a fan that circulates warm air and regulates its temperature with a thermostat. Therefore, such devices are quite suitable for a purely functional task - additional heating of the home.
Biofireplaces
Biofireplaces, like electric ones, are a decorative portal with a hearth. However, instead of a simulator of a living flame, bio-alcohol with special additives — ecologically clean fuel — really burns out in the hearth.
Types of fireplaces by placement method
Depending on the method of placement, fireplaces are of the following types:
- frontal (front);
- angular;
- freestanding.
The latter are much less popular due to the fact that they need a much more spacious room, while the front and corner can be installed in a room that is quite modest in size.
The device of a wood fireplace
A traditional wood-burning fireplace is laid during the construction process, although it is possible to fold it in an already built house, if it is possible to equip a reliable foundation. He must be able to withstand a considerable mass of brickwork and decorative materials.
The latter must be specially mentioned, because the appearance of the focus plays the most important role.
For these purposes, various decorative materials are used, the requirement for which, in addition to aesthetics, is the only one - heat resistance.
Among such materials are decorative stone, sawn granite or marble, special mantel, tiles. Sometimes ordinary tiles are used.
For the furnace, natural stone or refractory bricks are used. Metal foci can also be used - made of steel or cast iron.
Types of wood fireplaces and their features
There are two of them:
- classic fireplaces with an open firebox;
- fireplaces with a built-in firebox (the so-called fireplace stoves).
From an aesthetic point of view, the former are much preferable. But they are somewhat less functional, since the design of their chimney does not provide a long delay of warm air in the volume of the room. In addition, for safety reasons, it is undesirable to leave an open fireplace unattended for a long time.
Fireplace stoves are equipped with a closed firebox and a chimney with contours through which flue gas and hot air are distributed relatively evenly throughout the room. This provides a fairly good heating and significant fuel economy.
The technology of building a wood fireplace
It is quite simple if you clearly follow a certain order.
- First, the foundation is built - the foundation, then attractive holes are created in the wall, which serve to supply fresh air to the hearth.
- If the wall to which the fireplace will adjoin is not built of heat-resistant material (wood, for example), it is imperative to provide for its thermal insulation.
- Then, laying the hearth itself is performed. It can be made of special kiln bricks or assembled from prefabricated blocks fastened to the base and to each other with special heat-resistant cement.
- From below, a decorative lattice, most often made of forged cast iron, is embedded in the hearth aperture.
- The dome is crowned by the construction, which is subsequently connected to the chimney. For the latter, it is also necessary to provide reliable thermal insulation in places where it touches with non-heat-resistant materials of walls, ceilings and attics.
- The device for decorating the sidewalls and facade completes the process of building a fireplace. The final touch is the installation of a mantelpiece .
You can not immediately operate a folded fireplace. First you need to wait 3-4 weeks, so that the moisture contained in the solutions completely evaporates. Only after this can the first firebox be produced, subsequently smoothly adding a temperature load.
A modern cottage, a townhouse and, especially, an elite mansion without an elegant fireplace are simply unthinkable.
What it will be, completely depends on the taste and material capabilities of the owner of the house. The main thing is to decide, which is more important: just to provide heating for the home, create a unique cosiness, get the opportunity to gather with the whole family near a live fire ...
Perhaps the most significant will, in the end, be the latter.
Indeed, the figurative idiom “family hearth” was not born by chance, as a symbol of unity of all those who are close and dear.