Fire has been in the service of man since time immemorial. Very often it is hidden from our eyes: either inside the heating appliances or under the dishes on the stove. But the craving for an open source of fire did not disappear in people, so they experience a constant desire in contemplating it. People who know how to make fireplaces are master stove-makers. Many are sure that they have sacred knowledge that is inaccessible to ordinary people.
Although the basis of the arrangement of the fireplace are solely the laws of physics, as well as engineering skills. In principle, anyone can comprehend this simple science and lay out a fireplace with their own hands. All you need is patience and a great desire. Some are wondering how to make a drywall fireplace. In fact, this material is used exclusively for external decoration. It will not be possible to build a firebox or a chimney from it.
General information
The fireplace is a stove, but its design is a bit simpler. It has an open firebox. The design is less massive, for this reason it accumulates less heat than a stove. The smoke channel is straight, has no smoke circuits, firewood burns faster than in a stove, and most of the heat evaporates through the chimney. The fireplace has a decorative and aesthetic function, rather than a heating one. But this does not detract from its merits. You need to know a lot of nuances and understand how to make a fireplace with your own hands. From drywall it is allowed to make only elements that are away from the firebox. This is the main requirement.
The main advantage of fireplaces is the ability to quickly heat the premises with radiant heat from the flame. A large amount of oxygen that burns in the furnace allows fresh air to enter. But only if the ventilation is properly organized. In the rooms where the fireplace is lit, it is always dry and there will be no musty smell at all. Even if there is no main heating system.
What are fireplaces?
In our article, you will get acquainted with a step-by-step guide to making a decorative fireplace from a used cabinet. In addition, here you will find a detailed process for decorating a fireplace with stucco, as well as connecting an LED strip. In our article you will learn how to make a fireplace with your own hands. Step by step instructions will also be given. Basically, you only need to stick to the basic rules. For everything else, you can rely on your imagination.
Fireplaces that are used today have a closed firebox. It's basically a mini oven. After all, they organize the heating of air with the help of convection. The efficiency of these fireplaces is quite high, since the fuel in them burns as efficiently and completely as possible, so you can heat not one room, but the whole house. Unless, of course, its area is not very large.
Open fireplaces
Now let's look at how to make a decorative fireplace with your own hands.
But before equipping a fireplace, you need to find out what components it is made of, as well as their purpose:
- Firebox, or firebox - this is the main part, which is a niche made of refractory materials. As a rule, it is fireclay bricks. This is where the fuel burns.
- The firebox is framed using the portal. This item is purely decorative.
- Under - this is the lowest part of the firebox, it is made of refractory materials.
- Fuel is supported by the grate, and air is also supplied from below.
- Ashes gather in the ash pan. It is usually made from metal. This is a box in which a certain amount of ash is stored.
- With the help of the pre-furnace platform, it turns out to limit the disc from hitting the floor of the room. Also, this element is part of the decor.
- The back sloping part of the firebox, or a mirror, allows you to display heat indoors. Using a mirror, a smoke tooth is formed. This is an extremely important element of the fireplace, since with its help flowsair do not mix, also does not fall out and smoke does not penetrate into the building.
- The smoke collector, or hailo, allows you to collect combustion products from the firebox, after which it transfers them to the smoke mouth. Then into the outlet and chimney.
- With the help of a valve, you can close the flow of cold air in buildings from the street when the fireplace is running. It can also be used to adjust the level of traction.
Fireplace dimensions
This is not a heating system, but a piece of furniture. But do not forget that a good fireplace should adequately fulfill its main purpose. That is, with its help, you can not only heat the room, but also please the owners with the contemplation of an open fire. But when determining the dimensions, it is necessary to take into account not only the fantasies of designers and the preferences of the owners, but also engineering calculations. But now let's talk about how to make a fireplace with your own hands. The installation instructions for the most part consist of requirements and prohibitions. And they must be taken into account.
In the event that you place a large fireplace in a small room, then during operation it will begin to "eat" a large amount of oxygen. As a result, you will get a very strong draft. If there is, of course, forced ventilation. Also, during operation, a large amount of heat will begin to be released, so you are unlikely to be able to be in the room.
Fireplace engineering calculations
What are they? The cross section and height of the chimney, as well as other dimensions of the fireplace. The calculation method is quite complicated, but there are simplifiedkinds. It is them that we will now consider. By fulfilling these conditions, you can design your own fireplace that will be perfect for your space. And you can not resort to expensive specialists, because you yourself will learn how to make a fireplace. Step-by-step instructions will help you in this matter.
Calculation rules for fireplaces
So here are the rules:
- It is necessary to install a fireplace in a room of a certain area. All heat comes from the area of the furnace, it is limited to the portal. The ratio of the area of the furnace and the room should be 1 to 50. In other words, if the room has an area of 20 square meters, then the fireplace installed in it should have a furnace part of approximately 0.4 square meters.
- Now we need to define the width and height. By all rules, they should have a ratio of 2 to 3. Let's say the portal has a height of 51 cm. In this case, the width should be 76.5 cm. Be sure to check the area. In our case, it is equal to 0.39 square meters. And this is approximately equal to the parameter that was calculated a little earlier.
Another important parameter is the depth of the firebox. It has a strong effect on the operation of the fireplace. According to all the rules, it should be equal to two-thirds of the height of the portal. If we continue the example on the previous calculations, it turns out that the depth should be 34 cm.
If you increase the depth, the heat will run away from the furnace immediately into the chimney. But if you reduce the depth, then all the products of combustion will be in the room. Basically,you can consider how to make a fireplace out of metal boxes. But this is too dangerous, since the reliability of such a design is doubtful.
Fire safety
For fire safety purposes, it is necessary that the lift protrudes approximately 50 cm in front of the portal. You will also need to follow these rules:
- Make protrusions on the sides of the portal by 30 cm.
- The back wall of the firebox should be tilted about 20 degrees. Moreover, the slope must be done from about one third of the height.
- Walls should be placed at an angle of approximately 50 degrees to best reflect heat indoors.
- The total length of the chimney must be more than 5 m.
- But if you make the length of the chimney 10 meters or more, then the draft will become very large. In this case, the fireplace will "devour" firewood, but the heat transfer will be extremely low. In this case, it is necessary to make corner components that will reduce traction.
The cross-sectional area at the chimney should be about 10 times lower than the size of the furnace window.
Chimney pipe
It should be noted that the most suitable section of the chimney must not only correspond to the size of the fuel window, but also to the height of the pipe. There is also a dependence of this parameter on the shape of the channel. It is best to use bran. A lot of turbulence that interferes with the formation of normal draft is present in rectangular chimneys.
How to choose a place for a fireplace
When building a fireplaceYou need to spend a lot of effort, as well as invest a lot of money. And so that this is not in vain, you need to choose the right place in the room. There are several options for placing fireplaces:
- The structures built into the wall are most often made during the construction of a house. After all, you have to disassemble a piece of the wall. And to do this is quite difficult. The advantages of such fireplaces are that they do not take up the usable area of the room.
- Corner fireplaces are pretty handy in square shaped rooms.
- Wall fireplaces need space to fit.
- Freestanding or island fireplaces are quite conveniently located in the center of large rooms. They can open the firebox both from one side and from all sides.
Where installation is allowed
But you should know that not all rooms can install fireplaces.
Let's look at examples of when you can put fireplaces, and when not:
- If the area of the room is less than 12 square meters, it is not recommended to install a fireplace.
- Fireplaces must not be installed in airflow paths.
- Be sure to direct the fireplace portal to the center. Moreover, there should be no obstacles on the way from the center to the portal.
- The fireplace must not be placed in the path of people's movement.
- It is recommended to place fireplaces on the internal main walls of the room.
- When installing wall, built-in or corner fireplaces, it is necessary that there is more than one free space on the left and rightmeters.
What materials are needed for construction
The quality of work depends largely on the materials used in construction. And the main one is a brick. The requirements for the materials used are quite high. The following types of bricks are allowed:
Full-bodied red brick for laying stoves. It can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees. It is also quite energy-intensive, and receives and accumulates a huge amount of thermal energy. It is recommended to use brick grade M-200 and higher. Test the material by lightly tapping it with a hammer. A clear and clear sound should appear.
Fireclay bricks must be used where temperatures are highest. It is also used where there is contact with a flame. For this reason, the firebox of the fireplace must be laid out with such a brick. In its manufacture, fireclay clay is used, it makes up about 70% of the total mass. These bricks withstand high temperatures for a long time, and also accumulate heat and transfer it. It should be noted that the size of the brick may differ from the standard. There are fireclay bricks of special shapes to make arches.
Brick selection
You do not need to completely trust sellers and manufacturers when purchasing bricks. Don't assume that all bricks are the same quality. All material must be checked by yourself before you buy it. Of course, this process is quite lengthy. But subsequently the fireplace will be able to work without breakdowns.quite a long time. You need to pay attention to such points:
- First tap on the brick with a small hammer. You should hear a ringing sound. Fireclay bricks make an almost metallic sound.
- Compare brick sizes with passport values. The maximum deviation must be 2mm.
- If during inspection you notice a film similar to mica on the bricks, this indicates that the temperature regime was violated during firing. Such bricks are not recommended for use in construction.
- Both red and fireclay bricks should have the same color over the entire surface. High-quality fireclay bricks should be yellow-straw in color. If a white tint is present, this indicates that the firing temperature was too low.
Conclusion
When choosing bricks, look at the broken pieces that are in the same lot. Red brick should not have various inclusions, dark areas. For fireclay bricks, the internal structure should be darker than the outside surface. If you hit hard with a hammer, fireclay bricks break into large pieces.
