j January,1910 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
To secure the proper slope for the sides make the width of the 
back two-thirds of the front, letting the sides first run straight 
back for the width of a brick to save beveling them at the front 
edge. Allow the back to rise perpendicularly for about a foot 
before it begins to slope forward towards the throat. 
A fireplace can be built without the iron damper, but its 
presence is a guarantee that the form and size of the throat will be 
right. Then, too, its front ledge supports the flat-arch brick of 
the front which without it would require an iron angle bar. 
See that the opening into the flue proper, which latter is best 
lined with terra cotta forms made for the purpose, is over the 
center of the fireplace, in order to ensure equal draught through¬ 
out the fire chamber. From this central point the flue may 
swerve to either side to get around a fireplace above. 
Let the brick hearth extend sixteen or eighteen inches beyond 
the opening — the brickwork pattern is a matter of taste. It is 
supported on a “trimmer arch” or “rowlock arch,” as shown in 
the diagram, sprung between a pair of floor joists and the chimney 
foundation. See to it that no wooden timbers run through the 
brick masonry under the hearth or close to the sides of the fire 
chamber. The heat will eventually set these on fire. 
The chimney itself should 
run a foot or so above any 
nearby roof ridge, and it 
should work without any 
cowl, whirligig or other tin 
toy on the top. 
Bricks for lining the fire 
chamber, hearth and smoke 
chamber should be hard 
burned and laid in the best 
cement mortar. Ordinary 
lime mortar will not stand the 
heat of these exposed loca¬ 
tions. 
Do not make the mistake 
of having an ash-drop in the 
hearth, nor take out the ashes 
at all until the accumulation 
leaves no space for fresh logs. 
The presence of a glowing 
mass of embers under and 
back of the blaze is one of the 
wood fire’s greatest charms, 
night under the ashes and it 
The white cement facing and simple woodwork make an unusually 
distinctive fireplace in Mr. Frank Miles Day’s own home 
starter for to light the next 
evening’s fire. 
With our scientific f i re'- 
place completed there remains 
the problem of the mantel or 
plain shelf that is to embellish 
the chimney breast. There 
is an infinite variety of possi¬ 
bilities here, from the un¬ 
adorned breast of brick, stone 
or cement, to the delicately 
carved white painted mantel 
of Colonial times. Usually 
the treatment is governed by 
the architectural character 
and finish of the other wood¬ 
work in the room—a rough 
stone chimney breast is out 
of place with the delicately 
molded trim belonging to the 
Colonial style of interior, nor 
would the slender columns supporting a classic order and shelf 
of the latter type harmonize with heavy oak furniture and 
trim. Select the mantel to fit the character of the interior. 
Charming mantels of Colonial pattern are obtainable ready 
to set up and finished with the first coat of white paint. Or, 
if your interior is of the so-called craftsman type, make the 
mantel shelf and its support of waxed oak in plain lines to corre¬ 
spond. 
Throughout the discussion of a fireplace’s essentials in con¬ 
struction the assumption has been that brick would be used. 
This is by no means necessary, though it is easier, perhaps, and 
more appropriate to build a fireplace of this size with that ma¬ 
terial. For the facing, however, ’ tiles are occasionally used to 
excellent effect—not the highly glazed, raw-colored tiles that we 
associate with the gas log and the sham fireplace, but dull, hand¬ 
made tiles that are not necessarily precisely true to size and 
square edge, tiles that show forth something of the fire that 
made them. The square ones, three inches on a side, are obtain¬ 
able in plain dull squares and variously modeled raised patterns. 
A border of the latter around a plain field, or a diaper pattern 
in dull reds or greens makes, either of them, a charming fireplace 
facing. They are set in cement against the brickwork. 
But what of the fireplace that is already built and is never 
used because of its misbehavior? There is at least a good chance 
The extended line of mantel shelf against the white wood paneling 
gives a fine^place for the pewter collection 
Bury the unconsumed wood each 
will furnish the best kind of a 
Keep the ashes on the hearth—an accumulation of them contributes 
largely toward a better fire 
