How old are chimneys?

Chimneys have been an important part of buildings for centuries – particularly in colder climates where there is a need to retain heat but remove smoke, and prevent downdrafts. In British architecture, they were first found in castles (often these were just a simple chute with plain openings), and then in manor houses.

Chimneys are most common in houses built before 1900 when older furnaces needed chimneys to remove fumes from the house. As steam, gas, and electric heating became more popular, fireplaces were no longer necessary. They just became another place where heat could escape.

While Colonial houses of the 18th century needed big chimneys to support multiple fireplaces, houses built in the later half of the 19th century only needed ventilation space for stove pipes. That translated into skinnier chimneys. Inside, mantlepieces sometimes remained as a backdrop for the stoves.

The History of fireplaces in castles Chimneys were a later addition to castle walls. The chimneys are on the outside walls as they stick out. Domestic fires were located in the middle of the main room or hall. Halls would often have lanterns built into the roof which would let out smoke and sometimes the heat.

A flue is a venting system, each system needs its own so If you heat your home with oil or gas and have a fireplace you would have two flues. Often times they are in one chimney so if you were to look down the chimney it would be separated into two venting system inside one chimney.

But the old ways were still the most popular: According to the U.S. Census, 75 percent of homes still used wood or coal as their primary heating fuel in 1940.

While it’s sad to think about why somebody would brick over a fireplace in the first place, it does make sense. … In some cases, the fireplace flue gets sealed up and the firebox becomes purely decorative. In other cases, the whole thing gets bricked up and plastered over, erasing all trace of it.

Leaks and structural damage are the most common reasons for wanting to remove a chimney stack, and in such cases, you will have the option of simply covering over the rest of an unused chimney when you extend the roof over the gap left by the stack.

It is possible to remove the fireplace by itself and leave the stack or chimney flue. The most important aspect of this kind of removal is reinforcement. A lot of supports will need to be installed in order to maintain the structural integrity of your house.

Brick flues (or, if you prefer, chimneys) were used for furnaces, cooking stoves and water heaters. They were also used for coal-burning heaters that are often still present in the dining rooms of our Victorians, Classic Boxes and Craftsman bungalows.

The use of boilers, radiators, and steam or hot water to heat homes became more popular after the Civil War. … In the late 1800s, Dave Lennox manufactured and marketed a steel coal-fired furnace that used low-cost cast iron radiators to efficiently heat a home.

The most basic type of heating (other than open fires) is the stove. The earliest Victorian stoves were made of cast iron, with a door into which a solid fuel, usually coal, could be fed. A low-level ash pit door enabled ash, stones and other residue to be removed.

Industrial chimney use dates to the Romans, who drew smoke from their bakeries with tubes embedded in the walls. However, domestic chimneys first appeared in large dwellings in northern Europe in the 12th century. … However, they did not become common in houses until the 16th and 17th centuries.

The first chimneys were constructed in castles. The first one we know of is from the 12th century. “If the later Middle Ages had made only slight improvements in lighting over earlier centuries, a major technical advance had come in heating: the fireplace, an invention of deceptive simplicity.

Without a chimney, all the hot gases produced would take a toll on your walls and floor tiles and they may not give you enough years of service. This is very evident in the kitchen whose floor tiles do not have a sealant. As you have seen in the article, you do need a chimney in your house.

Yes, you can easily add a gas fireplace insert into your existing chimney. In fact, a fireplace insert is an appliance designed to fit into an existing fireplace. Inserts are usually cut in various sizes to suit your preferences and needs.

Well, like it or not, there is a chance of finding a rodent, whether it be a rat, squirrel or mouse, in your fireplace. … And you might be surprised to learn they can find access points through your chimney or via cracks or holes in your mortar, whether you have a gas or wood-burning fireplace.

The use of coal for heating was high until the mid-1940s, and then declined sharply. The switch to cleaner fuels was driven by plausibly exogenous changes in the availability of natural gas, the end of war-related supply restrictions, and a series of coal strikes from 1946-1950.

The modern use of heating oil dates back to the 1840s when crude oil was first distilled to create kerosene for lanterns. Shortly after, M.A. Fessler developed an oil burner.

For whatever reason — utility and industry promotions, consumer preference, technological and/or economic restrictions — by the late 1960s, gas heating had a leg up over electric and oil heating. Gas utilities promoted their systems throughout the year, summer and winter.

The functional purpose was to provide a fire retardent wall behind an open gas log heater. Many of the homes which had those false fireplaces also still had the remnants of the old gas lights.

A traditional fireplace heats by radiation — the flame and hot coals send out rays that strike objects or people in the room and speed up their molecules, thereby warming them up. But the principle of convection is also at work in a fireplace, and this is one reason why they can be so inefficient.

If the fireplace has been filled in with bricks, start from the vent and slowly knock out a few at a time with a club hammer and bolster chisel. You may find it easier to remove the plaster from the area first and then chip out the bricks, one by one, once you can see where the mortar joints are.

Fireplace and chimney removal costs $3,000 to $6,000 for an entire demolition with structural support and home repairs. A partial removal costs $500 to $2,500 for a wood-burning stove, gas fireplace insert, chimney stack, or breast. A large brick or stone chimney can cost $4,000 to $10,000 to remove.

Generally speaking You normally only need to ask for planning permission for alterations that affect the outside appearance of your home. … Therefore if you are planning to remove the chimney from above roof level, you would be required to seek planning consent in order to do this.

Removing the chimney breast can provide more floor space and more shared space. However, chimney pots often have structural functions. Therefore, removal must be done with care and preferably with professional advice.

Aside from the obvious benefits and drawbacks, wood or gas fireplaces add 50% to 75% of an increase in home value while an electric fireplace adds minimal value. It also seems that someone who is searching for a home prefers one type to another, often based on age value.

Chimney breast walls, although sometimes there for cosmetics—are often constructed for structural support. If you want to rip out the wall, you’ll need a professional to give it a once-over, so you won’t cause irreparable damage to the rest of your home.

The most common of these being the 2 foot, 10 foot, 3-foot rule. Roughly this means that a chimney should be 3 feet higher than the point it passes through a roof, while also being at least 2 feet taller than any part of a building that’s within 10 feet of the chimney.

A smokestack, stack, or chimney is a tall vertical pipe or channel used by power plants to exhaust combustion gases into the air. … This technique is to build the stack very high, because wind speeds are greater at high elevations, and the dispersion of the gases results in less gas remaining in a given area.

• Masonry Chimneys.
• Metal Chimneys.
• Factory-Built/ Prefabricated Chimneys.
• Fireplace Insert Chimneys.
• Freestanding Stove Chimneys.
• Wood Burning Stove Chimneys.

By the 1880s most working-class people lived in houses with two rooms downstairs and two or even three bedrooms. Most had a small garden. At the end of the 19th century, some houses for skilled workers were built with the latest luxury – an indoor toilet. … In the late 19th century most homes also had a scullery.

People wore layered clothing made of wool, flannel, or fur. Typical winter outerwear included hooded capes, great coats, scarves, cloaks, shawls, scarves, muffs, gloves, mittens, thick socks, stockings, long wraps, caps, hats, and ear mufs.

A coal fireplace is a very small masonry fireplace, most often found in homes built between 1880 and 1930.

With or without a four-poster bed, the common method of keeping the bed warm enough to sleep in was employing a bed warmer. Similar to the foot warmers, bed warmers were made of metals (copper being a common one) with holes punched strategically over the top.

The problem of cold homes comes down to three interrelated parts: household income, the cost of fuel, and the energy-efficiency of the building. … Over a third of the homes in the UK were built before 1945 and three quarters before 1980. This puts the UK at the top the rankings for the oldest building stock in Europe.

It’s Always Cold Unfortunately, older homes often have insufficient insulation because heating homes used to be inexpensive, the view of comfort has changed, and insulating technology has steadily improved. … Many basements are not insulated, which is fine unless you live in a climate where the ground freezes.

Oldest Chimneys Thornbury castle, located in Thronbury, England is a Tudor style building built in 1511 for the 3rd Duke of Buckingham. The ornate chimneys for the castle were added three years later in 1514.

The Big Victorian Problem – CEMENT The answer is very simple. They used cement. … The Victorians, seeing what a versatile substance it was, decided to not just build their chimneys out of bricks held together with cement mortar, they also lined their chimneys with a layer of cement mortar called parging.