Everyone who has country houses and villas, think about wood burning fireplaces for home.
If you have been thinking about getting this piece of furniture for a long time, but you think it's expensive, then read our article and you will realize that it is not so difficult to build a fireplace by yourself.
Technology for creating a fireplace with a high efficiency includes a lot of nuances, each of which must be taken into account in the construction.
The main stages of the construction of a fireplace at home with their own hands:
- principle of operation;
- seat selection;
- choice of type( choice of quality bricks);
- selection of materials;
- calculation of dimensions;
- the construction of a fireplace;
- creating a competent chimney.
Once you have decided that you want to have a fireplace in your living room, you need to answer yourself the question - will this be a purely decorative decoration of the house, or do you plan to use it to heat the room and maintain the heat for a long time.
In this article we will take a closer look at how to make a wood burning fireplace that will help you to warm the house and reduce the expense for electricity.
- How it works
- How it works
- How it works
- How to choose the place
- How to choose the type of hearth
- Materials for masonry
- How to build a chimney
- How to create a chimney
- A few words about aesthetics and design
- Chimney care
- How it works
How it works
Wood stoves fireplaces for a country house function according to the following principle:The result of the burning of dry firewood gives off heat, the stone heats up and can then for a long time keep the heat and heat the room.
It can look different in different ways, but its main elements - the firebox and the chimney - are present in any case.
The maximum effective fireplace should be:
- wide and shallow, even if it is angular, to increase the heat-transfer area;
- masonry may not be even, and some bricks can protrude, this increases the total area of the heating surface, and hence the heat transfer also increases;
- because the efficiency of the fireplace is not very high, then for its increase various tricks are invented. For example, add to the design of so-called heat shields - massive elements that heat up and produce additional heat.
Do not forget that no matter how competently built was not a home, it will not be possible to use it as the only means for heating a country house.
This is especially true for the northern regions of the country - there is no way to do without a central heating system.
But a properly constructed fireplace will delight you for a long time.
Choosing a place
How to properly place a stove in the territory of your country house or villa is the first question that you will ask yourself when starting construction.
You can look at the photos below for accommodation options.
The first rule of the fireplace is that the room should not be small. The fact is that in the process of burning, fire takes a lot of oxygen from the room, which means that the room should be spacious.
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There are, of course, ways to solve this issue and otherwise - in the hearth subfield leave a small cavity, a channel for air, which leads directly to the street and ensures the supply of oxygen to the fire.
By the way of placing in the room a fireplace made of bricks can be:
- corner;
- against the wall;
- central.
That is, you can install it in the corner of the room, just by the wall or in the center.
Selection of the type of hearth
Wood fireplaces can be divided into open and closed fireplaces.
The closed ones have cast-iron bases( an internal boiler in which the process of burning wood takes place), covered with stone or brick.
The front door on such a firebox can be made of glass, which adds to the whole design of beauty and aesthetics.
You can admire the fire, while the door is closed and the fire receives less oxygen, which reduces the intensity of combustion, saving fuel consumption.
This is done when the temperature in the room is already high enough and you just need to maintain it at a comfortable level.
Cast iron cassettes are relatively inexpensive compared to refractory bricks, so their use will also help save on construction.
The device has its own characteristics in comparison with the open, but you can easily build one and the other with your own hands.
Another classification of fireplaces:
- wall( angular);
- built-in;
- island.
Depending on the size of the room, choose the model of the oven.
The island version is arranged in very large rooms, and if the room is not very spacious, then the angular variant is more suitable for you.
Ostrovnoy warms up the room more effectively, since any fireplace radiates radiant heat, then, being in the center of the room, it heats the room, and not the external wall.
However, the corner fireplace can be more economical, since only one front wall is erected.
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Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, so in each specific case, a focus is chosen that meets the goals and tastes of the owner of a country house or villa.
Each of them can be:
- gas;
- wood;
- electric.
And if everything is quite simple with a gas and electric fireplace - you choose a design, you bring it home and install the model you have chosen, and now you are already admiring the beautiful artificial fire, then the fireplaces made of bricks( including cast-iron ones) are real stoves thatrequire and special knowledge in the construction and specific care.
However, the focus looks much more impressive, and the heat from it is special. It will suit you if you care about the appearance of your country home and its effective use.
And it's quite possible to build it yourself.
Materials for masonry
The simplest material for the construction of a fireplace is a brick( M-150 or chamotte grade).
The main characteristics of this material are relatively inexpensive( compared to natural stone), an effective, heat-resistant material that retains and gives heat for a long time, and which can last for many years.
The main thing is to take the brick of the desired brand so that it can withstand the high temperature that results from the burning of fuel.
Other materials from which you can build a furnace yourself:
- concrete;
- stone.
For masonry, you will also need a mixture based on clay.
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The finished dry kiln mix is sold in stores, but you can also make it yourself. To do this, you need fatty clay, quartz mountain sand and water.
Fine finishing is made of heat-resistant materials that retain for a long time and give off heat. These are different types of stone( natural and artificial), wood, tiles, ceramics, decorative plaster.
Firing the fireplace
Once you have decided on exactly how your future home will look, you need to make the drawings for which you will build.
This will help to decide definitively with all the nuances and not deviate from the course. You can find ready-made drawings, already verified by someone in fact.
The standard fireplace weighs about a ton, so it's rarely necessary to do without a foundation or additional reinforcement under its base.
Before proceeding directly to the laying, lay out the first row of bricks without using a mixture to make sure that the drawings are executed correctly and everything corresponds to the idea.
After this, the first row of pipe bricks is also laid out dryly and plumbs are lowered from the ceiling to make sure that the distance obtained is sufficient to make a horizontal fire-fighting cut.
The fireplace masonry starts from the corners, then lay out the outer walls, and then the inner part.
After the fireplace is erected, its lining is carried out - this is the protection of the firebox of the fireplace from the inside of the refractory metal plates.
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According to the technology of construction, the corner fireplace is not particularly different from the usual one.
Strictly observe the observance of all the rules of the construction of the fireplace, and it will serve you for a long time.
Creating a chimney
A chimney chimney is a vertical channel for the exit of smoke and carbon dioxide.
Requirements that advance to a good chimney:
- the presence of a strong thrust so that the combustion products of the fuel do not fall into the room in any way;
- all its elements must be heat resistant;
- materials must be resistant to temperature changes.
To create a chimney, use a ceramic pipe, which is the main channel( ceramics resistant to strong heat and mechanical damage).
On top, the ceramic pipe is lined with mineral wool, and only then lay a layer of brick, stone or concrete, depending on what the fireplace is built of.
The chimney is often made curved at an angle of 90 degrees so that the inside does not get water and snow.
A few words about the aesthetics and design of the
. No matter how important the practical function of the fireplace is, no one can deny the importance of its appearance.
After all, if the room has a fireplace, then it becomes the center of the entire interior. Therefore, to think over its appearance is very important.
By creating a fireplace with your own hands, you can use heat-resistant facing materials and lay out not only the hearth but also the wall behind it.
The fireplace does not have to be bulky and take up half the room. Look at the photo below, there are small models, for example angular ones, which will look harmonious in a room less than 20 sq.m.
Photo:
As an ornament, cast iron or forged elements are used - a wood basket, a spark-out grate, tools and a stand for them - all this can additionally emphasize the effectiveness of the fireplace, examples can be found in the photo below.
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Caring for the fireplace
The fireplace made of bricks is not a very complicated design, however, it requires some attention to work without interruption.
The first thing you need is a chimney sweep. Even if everything functions smoothly, twice a year it is necessary to carry out diagnostics, check the chimney and clean it if necessary.
This will save you from unpleasant surprises. As a result of prolonged burning of the tree, soot is formed, which accumulates in places of bends, where there are some protrusions.
For easy cleaning on the chimney, special holes are made with doors that allow better control of the contamination of the fireplace.
