HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, tqio 
A reinforced concrete beam separates this broad ingle- 
nook from the living-room 
The seats here are rather too 
close to the fire for comfort. 
Make the inglenook seats of 
box form, with hinged lids, so 
as to have a convenient space 
for firewood 
The owner has had a lot of enjoyment in making the 
oak mantel facing and copper hood himself 
so that it will not smoke. Moreover, you will get the maximum 
amount of heat from it into the room instead of up the chimney. 
There are two great essentials in a good fire¬ 
place. One is the relation between the opening 
into the room and the flue area—the latter 
should be one-tenth of the former area; the 
other is what is called the “smoke chamber,” 
a part that corresponds to the dome on a fire- 
engine, which is designed to take up and equalize 
the force of the stream that is pumped inter¬ 
mittently through it. In much the same way 
the smoke chamber takes up the inequalities of 
draught and down draught and keeps the smoke 
going steadily up the chimney. A glance at the 
diagram will make this clear. The brickwork 
at the top of a fireplace, just above the opening, 
is drawn forward to form the “throat” — an open¬ 
ing into the smoke chamber three or four inches 
deep and the full width of the fireplace opening. 
This throat contains a cast-iron damper, with a 
hinged lid as shown. The narrowing of the 
natural exit passage for the smoke and gases 
causes these latter to pass through under some 
pressure and therefore with a distinct force. 
When the fire is first lighted the column of warm 
air rises at the front of the flue, causing nat¬ 
urally the down draught of the cold air at the 
back. 
reach 
If the 
the fire 
This vertical section through the 
center of a fireplace shows 
the scientifically correct form 
for maximum efficiency and 
no smoke 
way were open to it this descending column would 
on the hearth and force the smoke and gases into 
the room. The “smoke shelf” prevents this, 
and by its form swirls the cold air around until it 
is carried into the path of the rapidly ascend¬ 
ing warm column and on up the chimney. It is 
the simplest and most logical thing in the world, 
yet if you entrust the building of your fireplace 
to the village mason he will build it any other 
way but the right one. 
Many of the Colonists’ fireplaces had cavern¬ 
ous smoke chambers above them, and there was 
usually a door at the side of the chimney breast 
through which the hams and bacon went to hang 
in the smoke until cured. When this function 
of the chamber was no longer employed the 
chamber itself gradually disappeared and the 
flues were made larger and larger in misguided 
efforts to prevent the fireplace from smoking. 
Although the proportion between opening and 
flue and the.construction of the smpke chamber 
are the prime essentials, there are other minor 
details of the fireplace that must be provided 
for if we are to have the maximum efficiency. 
The depth of the fire chamber should be one- 
half the widthvand the sides and back should 
slope so as to reflect the heat out into the room. 
The cavernous kitchen fireplaces of our Colonial an- A large stone projects to form a hob. 
cestors were picturesque but needlessly large The hearth is of cement and stones 
The old-time builders usually took advantage of all 
waste space around the flue by putting in closets 
