Making fireplaces - why do you need it?
Fireplaces appeared a long time ago. Even in the Middle Ages, every self-respecting castle owner possessed a spacious hall with a huge fireplace, in which one could bake a calf at once and keep warm in the cold season. It should also be noted that the contemplation of the flame of the fire, always acted on the person bewitching and soothing, introducing an inexpressible sense of comfort, and it is the fireplace that allows you to transfer the charm of this spectacle to your home, while helping to ensure the proper safety of the home.
The classic fireplace itself is a firebox with one open wall of non-flammable material, made as one piece with a direct chimney. The production of fireplaces is possible with the help of materials such as marble, granite, cast iron, however the most common is brick.
In addition to the aesthetic component, the construction of fireplaces has a purely practical interest - heating the dwelling. And the specificity of heating is that it is due to an open flame, almost immediately after ignition, it starts to heat up the room quickly, which is quite nice when you come to the country house for a weekend in winter. However, unlike the stoves, having a straight flue without branches, the fireplace practically does not accumulate heat and almost instantly cools after burning the fuel.
Building fireplaces - how to ensure safety?
Compliance with the following safety principles will show how to properly make a fireplace. First, it must be made of non-combustible materials. Also, closer than one meter to it there should be no furniture, windows, etc. The distance from the walls of the fireplace should not be less than 20 cm to the surface of the walls of the house, and covered with non-combustible materials.
The fireplace must necessarily be designed for the size of the room, because if it is too large during the fire, all the oxygen in the room will be burned. A strong, specially calculated foundation is also needed.
In addition, there must be a plate of non-flammable material lying in front of the fireplace. Use only hardwood firewood, carefully dried beforehand to avoid "sparks shooting" and quick clogging of the chimney. And, of course, in no case should you leave the working fireplace unattended.
Before you build a fireplace, you need to calculate and make a foundation for it, which should not connect to the foundation of the building and stand at least 10 cm away from the base. The following tools will be needed: a metal square, a hammer with a pick on the back, a trowel,level shock, a bulgarian with a circle for cutting brick, a rubber hammer.
How to build a fireplace - the basis of the technique of laying
Before, how to build a fireplace , we select from the total mass of bricks without chips and slight damage to lay out the outer part. Then, according to the chosen project, for the initial fitting we lay out the first row of bricks on the foundation without mortar, taking into account that the distance between them should be approximately equal to 5 mm.
By the way, the bricks must be solid and withstand loads of at least 150 g / cm² and are placed on a special furnace solution, which is sold in all major construction stores.
Before laying, the bricks should be dipped in a bucket of water for 10-15 seconds, as if this is not done, the brick will instantly pull out all the moisture from the mortar, and as a result, the masonry will easily fall apart. After fitting, we put the first row of bricks on the mortar, using a square and level, if necessary, tapping it with a rubber mallet. After that, checking the horizontal and vertical surfaces, we begin to lay out the remaining rows, not forgetting that the seam between the bricks should be about 5 mm.
Directly a firebox spread from fireclay bricks , using a special chamotte solution with a distance between bricks not more than 3 mm. The side walls of the firebox should not be attached to the side walls of ordinary bricks, since they have different sizes and the expansion coefficient, so there must always be a gap between them. The lower row of the furnace is put on a regular brick with the help of a furnace solution, if necessary, for a bundle, inserting a wire into the seams. Semicircular overlapping is done with a special template made of boards and plywood.
Of course, all the tips are good, but it's important to have a visual aid, how to build a fireplace, the video materials attached to the article will help you the best.
