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It was during the the Victorian era that fireplaces became popular when people started adding a touch of class to their living rooms for a quaint environment. As the structure of houses changed, style of creating fireplaces also varied along with the technology with new sand casting techniques enabling the manufacturers to produce better and more elaborate designs than ever before. Increasingly, coal was being used instead of wood and smaller grates replaced the large basket-style grates of the 1700's.
Benjamin Franklin with all his great discoveries, found that fireplaces lost a tremendous amount of heat through the wall. Because smoke was vented from the bottom, air could not be drawn in. This inspired him to create the first freestanding firebox, which became to be known as the Franklin stove. This addition proved quite successful and by the late 1700s, these freestanding stoves were being used throughout the country. Trying to find ways to best heat a room, he placed the first stove in the center of the room. The result was that the entire room was heated thoroughly and evenly. His other discovery was that by using heavy cast iron, even when the flames went out, the heat continued being produced.
There are basically two elements related to the fireplaces:
- The insert is the portion of the fireplace where the fire is burned and is always cast iron, often decorated with tiles.
- The surround (the mantel and sides) is usually made of marble, wood or iron.