Chapter 22

As the two walls which form the new covings of the Chimney are not parallel to each other; but inclined, presenting an oblique surface towards the front of the Chimney, and as they are built perfectly upright and quite flat, from the hearth to the top of the throat, where they end, it is evident that an horizontal section of the throat will not be an oblong square; but its deviation from that form is a matter of no consequence; and no attempts should ever be made, by twisting the covings above, where they approach the breast of the Chimney, to bring it to that form.--All twists, bends, prominences, excavations, and other irregularities of form, in the covings of a Chimney, never fail to produce eddies in the current of air which is continually passing into, and through an open Fire-place in which a fire is burning;--and all such eddies disturb, either the fire, or the ascending currents of smoke, or both; and not unfrequently cause the smoke to be thrown back into the room.--Hence it appears, that the covings of Chimneys should never be made circular, or in the form of any other curve; but always quite flat.

For the same reason, that is to say, to prevent eddies, the breast of the Chimney, which forms that side of the throat that is in front, or nearest to the room, should be nearly cleaned off, and its surface made quite regular and smooth.

This may easily be done by covering it with a coat of plaster, which may be made thicker or thinner in different parts as may be necessary in order to bring the breast of the Chimney to be of the proper form.

With regard to the form of the breast of a Chimney, this is a matter of very great importance, and which ought always to be particularly attended to.--The worst form it can have is that of a vertical plane, or upright flat;--and next to this the worst form is an inclined plane.--Both these forms cause the current of warm air from the room, which will, in spite of every precaution, sometimes find its way into the Chimney, to cross upon the current of smoke, which rises from the fire, in a manner most likely to embarrass it in its ascent, and drive it back. --The inclined plane which is formed by a flat register placed in the throat of a Chimney produces the same effects; and this is one reason, among many others, which have induced me to disapprove of register stoves.

The current of air, which, passing under the mantle, gets into the Chimney, should be made GRADUALLY TO BEND ITS COURSE UPWARDS, by which means it will be QUIETLY with the ascending current of smoke, and will be less likely to check it, or force it back into the room.--Now this may be effected with the greatest ease and certainty, merely by ROUNDING OFF the breast of the Chimney or back part of the mantle, instead of leaving it flat, or full of holes and corners; and this of course ought always to be done.

I have hitherto given no precise directions in regard to the height to which the new back and covings ought to be carried:-- This will depend not only on the height of the mantle, but also, and more especially, on the height of the breast of the Chimney, or of that part of the Chimney where the breast ends and the upright canal begins.--The back and covings must rise a few inches, five or six for instance, higher than this part, otherwise the throat of the Chimney will not be properly formed:--but I know of no advantages that would be gained by carrying them up still higher.

I mentioned above, that the space between the walls which form the new back and covings, and the old back and sides of the Fire-place, should be filled up:--but this must not be understood to apply to the space between the wall of dry bricks, or the tile which closes the passage for the Chimney-sweeper, and the old back of the Chimney; for that space must be left void, otherwise, though this tile (which at most will not be more than two inches in thickness,) were taken away, there would not be any room sufficient for him to pass.

In forming this door-way, the best method of proceeding is to place the tile or flat piece of stone destined for closing it, in its proper place; and to build round it, or rather by the sides of it; taking care not to bring any mortar near it, in order that it may be easily removed when the door-way is finished.--With regard to the rabbet which should be made in the door-way to receive it and fix it more firmly in its place, this may either be formed at the same time when the door-way is built, or it may be made after it is finished, by attaching to its bottom and sides, with strong mortar, pieces of thin roof tiles. Such as are about half an inch in thickness will be best for this use; if they are thicker, they will diminish too much the opening of the door-way, and will likewise be more liable to be torn away by the Chimney-sweeper in passing up and down the Chimney.

It will hardly be necessary for me to add, that the tile, or flat stone, or wall of dry bricks, which is used for closing up the door-way, must be of sufficient height to reach quite up to a level with the top of the walls which form the new back and covings of the Chimnies.

I ought, perhaps, to apologize for having been so very particular in these description and explanations, but it must be remembered that this chapter is written principally for the information of those who, having had few opportunities of employing their attention in abstruse philosophical researches, are not sufficiently practised in these intricate investigations, to seize, with facility, new ideas;--and consequently, that I have frequently been obliged TO LABOUR to make myself understood.

I have only to express my wishes that my reader may not be more FATIGUED with this labour than I have been;--for we shall them most certainly be satisfied with each other.--But to return once more to the charge.

There is one important circumstance respecting Chimney Fire-places, destined for burning coals, which still remains to be farther examined;--and that is the Grate.

Although there are few grates that may not be used in Chimneys constructed or altered upon the principles here recommended, yet they are not, by any means, all equally well adapted for that purpose.--Those whose construction is the most simple, and which of course are the cheapest, are beyond comparison the best, ON ALL ACCOUNTS.--Nothing being wanted in these Chimnies but merely a grate for containing the coals, and in which they will burn with a clear fire;--and all additional apparatus being, not only useless, but very pernicious, all complicated and expensive grates should be laid aside, and such as more simple substituted in the room of them.--And in the choice of a grate, as in every thing else, BEAUTY and ELEGANCE may easily be united with the MOST PERFECT SIMPLICITY.--Indeed they are incompatible with every thing else.

In placing the grate, the thing principally to be attended to is, to make the back of it coincide with the back of the Fire-place;-- but as many of the grates now in common use will be found to be too large, when the Fire-places are altered and improved, it will be necessary to diminish their capacities by filling them up at the back and the sides with pieces of fire-stone. When this is done, it is the front of the flat piece of fire-stone which is made to form a new back to the grate, which must be made to coincide with, and make part of the back, of the Fire-place.-- But in diminishing the capacities of grates with pieces of fire-stone, care must be taken not to make them TOO NARROW.

The proper width for grates destined for rooms of a middling size will be from six to eight inches, and their length may be diminished more or less, according as the room is heated with more or less difficulty, or as the weather is more or less severe. --But where the width of a grate is not more than five inches, it will be very difficult to prevent the fire from going out.

It goes out for the same reason that a live coal from the grate that falls upon the hearth soon ceases to be red hot;--it is cooled by the surrounding cold air of the atmosphere.-- The knowledge of the cause which produces this effect is important, as it indicates the means which may be used for preventing it. --But of this subject I shall treat more fully hereafter.

It frequently happens that the iron backs of grates are not vertical, or upright, but inclined backwards.--When these grates are so much too wide as to render it necessary to fill them up behind with fire-stone, the inclination of the back will be of little consequence; for by making the piece of stone with which the width of the grate is to be diminished in the form of a wedge, or thicker above than below, the front of this stone, which in effect will become the back of the grate, may be made perfectly vertical; and the iron back of the grate being hid in the solid work of the back of the Fire-place, will produce no effect whatever; but if the grate be already so narrow as not to admit of any diminution of its width, in that case it will be best to take away the iron back of the grate entirely, and fixing the grate firmly in the brick-work, cause the back of the Fire-place to serve as a back to the grate.--This I have very frequently done, and have always found it to answer perfectly well.

Where it is necessary that the fire in a grate should be very small, it will be best, in reducing the grate with fire-stone, to bring its cavity, destined for containing the fuel, to the form of one half of a hollow hemisphere; the two semicircular openings being one above, to receive the coals, and the other in front, or towards the bars of the grate; for when the coals are burnt in such a confined space, and surrounded on all sides, except in the front and above, by fire-stone, (a substance peculiarly well adapted for confining heat,) the heat of the fire will be concentrated, and the cold air of the atmosphere being kept at a distance, a much smaller quantity of coals will burn, than could possibly be made to burn in a grate where they would be more exposed to be cooled by the surrounding air, or to have their heat carried off by being in contact with iron, or with any other substance through which heat passes with greater facility than through fire-stone.

Being persuaded that if the improvements in Chimney Fire-places here recommended should be generally adopted, (which I cannot help flattering myself will be the case,) that it will become necessary to reduce, very considerably, the sizes of grates, I was desirous of showing how this may, with the greatest safety and facility, be done.

Where grates, which are designed for rooms of a middling size, are longer than 14 or 15 inches, it will always be best, not merely to diminish their lengths, by filling them up at their two ends with fire-stone, but, forming the back of the Chimney of a proper width, without paying any regard to the length of the grate, to carry the covings through the two ends of the grate in such a manner as to conceal them, or at least to conceal the back corners of them in the walls of the covings.

I cannot help flattering myself that the directions here given in regard to the alterations which it may be necessary to make in Fire-places, in order to introduce the improvements proposed, will be found to be so perfectly plain and intelligible that no one who reads them will be at any loss respecting the manner in which the work is to be performed; -- but as order and arrangement tend much to facilitate all mechanical operations, I shall here give a few short directions respecting the manner of LAYING OUT THE WORK, which may be found useful, and particularly to gentlemen who may undertake to be their own architects, in ordering and directing the alterations to be made for the improvement of their Fire-places.

Directions for laying out the Work.

If there be a grate in the Chimney which is to be altered, it will always be best to take it away; and when this is done, the rubbish must be removed, and the hearth swept perfectly clean.

Suppose the annexed figure No. 1. to represent the ground plan of such a Fire-place; A B being the opening of it in front, A C and B D the two sides or covings, and C D the back.

Figure 2. shows the elevation of this Fire-place.

First draw a strait line, with chalk, or with a lead pencil, upon the hearth, from one jamb to the other,--even with the front of the jambs. The dotted line A B, figure 3, may represent this line.

From the middle C of this line, (A B) another line c d, is to be drawn perpendicular to it, across the hearth, to the middle d, of the back of the Chimney.

A person must now stand upright in the Chimney, with his back to the back of the Chimney, and hold a plumb-line to the middle of the upper part of the breast of the Chimney (d, fig. 5,) or where the canal of the Chimney begins to rise perpendicularly;-- taking care to place the line above in such a manner that the plumb may fall on the line c d, draw on the hearth from the middle of the opening of the Chimney in front to the middle of the back, and an assistant must mark the precise place e, on that line where the plumb falls.

This being done, and the person in the Chimney having quitted his station, four inches are to be set off the line c d, from e, towards d; and the point f, where these four inches end, (which must be marked with chalk, or with a pencil,) will show how far the new back is to be brought forward.

Through f, draw the line g h, parallel to the line A B, and this line g h will show the direction of the new back, or the ground line upon which it is to be built.

The line c f will show the depth of the new Fire-place; and if it should happen that c f is equal to about ONE-THIRD of the line A B; and if the grate can be accommodated to the Fire-place instead of its being necessary to accommodate the Fire-place to the grate, in that case, half the length of the line c f, is to be set off from f on the line g f h, on one side to k, and on the other to i, and the line i k will show the ground line of the fore part of the back of the Chimney.

In all cases where the width of the opening of the Fire-place in front (A B) happens to be not greater, or not more than two or three inches greater than THREE TIMES the width of the new back of the Chimney (i k), this opening may be left, and lines drawn from i to A, and from k to B, will show the width and position of the front of the new covings;--but when the opening of the Fire-place in front is still wider, it must be reduced; which is to be done in the following manner:

From c, the middle of the line A B, c a and c b, must be set off equal to the width of the back (i k), added to half its width (f i), and lines drawn from i to a, and from k to b, will show the ground plan of the fronts of the new covings.

When this is done, nothing more will be necessary than to build up the back and covings; and if the Fire-place is designed for burning coals, to fix the grate in its proper place, according to the directions already given.--When the width of the Fire-place is reduced, the edges of the covings a A and b B are to make a finish with the front of the jambs.--And in general it will be best, not only for the sake of the appearance of the Chimney, but for other reasons also, to lower the height of the opening of the Fire-place, whenever its width in front is diminished.

Fig. 4. shows a front view of the Chimney after it has been altered according to the directions here given.--By comparing it with fig. 2. (which shows a front view of the same Chimney before it was altered), the manner in which the opening of the Fire-place in front is diminished may be seen.--In fig. 4. the under part of the door-way by which the Chimney-sweeper gets up the Chimney is represented by white dotted lines. The door-way is represented closed.

I shall finish this chapter with some general observations relative to the subject under consideration; with directions how to proceed where such local circumstances exist as render modifications of the general plan indispensably necessary.

Whether a Chimney be designed for burning wood upon the hearth, or wood, or coals in a grate, the form of the Fire-place is in my opinion, most perfect when THE WIDTH OF THE BACK is equal to the DEPTH OF THE FIRE-PLACE, and the opening of the Fire-place in front equal to THREE TIMES the width of the back, or, which is the same thing, to THREE TIMES THE DEPTH OF THE FIRE-PLACE.

But if the Chimney be designed for burning wood upon the hearth, upon hand irons, or dogs, as they are called, it will sometimes be necessary to accommodate the width of the back to the length of the wood; and when this is the case, the covings must be accommodated to the width of the back, and the opening of the Chimney in front.

When the wall of the Chimney in front, measured from the upper part of the breast of the Chimney to the front of the mantle, is very thin, it may happen, and especially in Chimnies designed for burning wood upon the hearth, or upon dogs, that the depth of the Chimney, determined according to the directions here given, may be too small.

Thus, for example, supposing the wall of the Chimney in front, from the upper part of the breast of the Chimney to the front of the mantle, to be only four inches, (which is sometimes the case, particularly in rooms situated near the top of a house,) in this case, if we take four inches for the width of the throat, this will give eight inches only for the depth of the Fire-place, which would be too little, even were coals to be burnt instead of wood.--In this case I should increase the depth of the Fire-place at the hearth to 12 or 13 inches, and should build the back perpendicular to the height of the top of the burning fuel, (whether it be wood burnt upon the hearth, or coals in a grate,) and then, sloping the back by a gentle inclination forward, bring it to its proper place, that is to say, PERPENDICULARLY UNDER THE BACK OF THE THROAT OF THE CHIMNEY. This slope, (which will bring the back forward four or five inches, or just as much as the depth of the Fire-place is encreased,) though it ought not to be too abrupt, yet it ought to be quite finished at the height of eight or ten inches above the fire, otherwise it may perhaps cause the Chimney to smoke; but when it is very near the fire, the heat of the fire will enable the current of rising smoke to overcome the obstacle which this slope will oppose to its ascent, which it could not do so easily were the slope situated at a greater distance from the burning fuel[2].

Fig. 7, 8, and 9, show a plan, elevation, and section of a Fire-place constructed or altered upon this principal.--The wall of the Chimney in front at a, fig. 9, being only four inches thick, four inches more added to it for the width of the throat would have left the depth of the Fire-place measured upon the hearth b c only eight inches, which would have been too little;--a niche c and e, was therefore made in the new back of the Fire-place for receiving the grate, which niche was six inches deep in the center of it, below 13 inches wide, (or equal in width to the grate,) and 23 inches high; finishing above with a semicirular arch, which, in its highest part, rose seven inches above the upper part of the grate.--The door-way for the Chimney-sweeper, which begins just above the top of the niche, may be seen distinctly in both the figures 8 and 9.--The space marked g, fig. 9, behind this door-way, may either be filled with loose bricks, or may be left void.--The manner in which the piece of stone f, fig. 9, which is put under the mantle of the Chimney to reduce the height of the opening of the Fire-place, is rounded off on the inside in order to give a fair run to the column of smoke in its ascent through the throat of the Chimney, is clearly expressed in this figure.

The plan fig. 7, and elevation fig. 8, show how much the width of the opening of the Fire-place in front is diminished, and how the covings in the new Fire-place are formed.

A perfect idea of the form and dimension of the Fire-place in its original state, as also after its alteration, may be had by careful inspection of these figures.

I have added the drawing fig. 10, merely to show how a fault, which I have found workmen in general whom I have employed in altering Fire-places are very apt to commit, is to be avoided. --In Chimneys like that represented in this figure, where the jambs A and B project far into the room, and where the front edge of the marble slab, o which forms the coving, does not come so far forward as the front of the jambs, the workmen in constructing the new covings are very apt to place them,--not in the line c A, which they ought to do,--but in the line c o, which is a great fault.--The covings of a Chimney should never range BEHIND the front of the jambs, however those jambs may project into the room;--but it is not absolutely necessary that the covings should MAKE A FINISH with the internal front corners of the jambs, or that they should be continues from the back c, quite to the front of the jambs at A.--They may finish in front at a and b, and small corners A, o, a, may be left for placing the shovels, tongs, etc.

Were the new coving to range with the front edge of the old coving o, the obliquity of the new coving would commonly be too great;--or the angle d c o would exceed 135 degrees, WHICH IT NEVER SHOULD DO,--or at least never by more than a very few degrees.

No inconvenience of any importance will arise from making the obliquity of the covings LESS than what is here recommended; but many cannot fail to be produced by making it much greater;-- and as I know from experience that workmen are very apt to do this, I have thought it necessary to warn them particularly against it.

Fig. 11. shows how the width and obliquity of the covings of a Chimney are to be accommodated to the width of the back, and to the opening in front and depth of the Fire-place, where the width of the opening of the Fire-place is less than three times the width of the new back. As all those who may be employed in altering Chimneys may not, perhaps, known how to set off an angle of any certain numbers of degrees,--or may not have at hand the instruments necessary for doing it,--I shall here show how an instrument may be made which will be found to be very useful in laying out the work for the bricklayers.

Upon a board about 18 inches wide and four feet long, or upon the floor or a table, draw three equal squares A, B, C, fig. 12. of about 12 or 14 inches each side, placed in a strait line, and touching each other.--From the back corner c of the center square B, draw a diagonal line across the square A, to its outward front corner f, and the adjoining angle formed by the lines d c and c f will be equal to 135 degrees,--the angle which the plane of the back of a Chimney Fire-place ought to make with the plane of its covings.--And a bevel m, n, being made to this angle with thin slips of hard wood, this little instrument will be found to be very useful in marking out on the hearth, with chalk, the plans of the walls which are to form the covings of Fire-places.