Fireplaces, Chimneys and Fireproofing 



119 



that the old fire frames can be adapted in a most ingenious manner as a fireplace 

 lining. He may discover, furthermore, that if this fire frame is used within a 

 larger fireplace it still retains its radiating surface and at the same time loses its 

 ordinary disadvantage of intrusion upon the floor space (see Fig. 21). He might 

 even fill up the space about the fire frame with perforated metal work, which 

 would give him practically a very small local heater and a comparatively large 

 register. As most of the generated heat from a fireplace goes up the chimney 

 under ordinary circumstances, this idea is worthy 

 of some consideration. If the fire frame is not 

 obtainable, the "Franklin stove," its descendant, 

 will answer just as well; be sure, however, that 

 you amputate the legs and set the stove directly 

 on the hearth. 



If the iron fire back of decent design can 

 be obtained, it is advantageous to use it, as it 

 withstands the heat and radiates better than any 

 other material. Reproductions of old work are 

 apt to be better in design than the modern 

 product, but this rule is not without exceptions. 



Toward the latter part of the seventeenth 

 century coal began to be used, and the English 

 wood-burning fireplaces of the period were 

 modified for its accommodation. Basket grates 

 set inside of the moderately sized fireplace seem 

 to have solved the problem better than the fixed 

 grate, as its removal for the burning of wood is 



an added advantage, 

 grates, and a few of 

 the modern exam- 

 ples, are excellent 

 in design. The prin- 

 cipal trouble with all 

 this ironwork, both 

 the fire back and the 

 grate, was the ten- 

 dency to overcrowd 

 it with cheap orna- 

 mentation. Restful 

 simplicity wears 

 better and becomes 

 less tiresome on long 

 acquaintance. I n 

 the modern country 

 home all things 

 should work together 

 for restfulness. 



Many of the old basket 



Fig. 2 1 . Showing the use of the old fire frame 

 in the larger fireplace opening. A pierced metal 

 screen is used as a facing about the frame 



A delightful example of delicate detail in the Ladd House, Portsmouth, N. H. 



