There is a history for everything, and without an exception the chimney and fire place cover their own interesting history. In the temperate regions, the use of wood to heat the shelters of men is older than the written word. In the 1700s, iron smelting was found to produce heat efficiently. And it is in the 19th century where the fire place began to be popular. Importantly too, this is when men realized the social and aesthetic value of a fire place, and not just its functionality. To have a fire place is to have class; and it provided a quaint and cozy ambiance in the home.

As time went by, housing fashions and designs changed, and fire place designs changed as well. The advance of technology provided better means and innovative features to the fire place that increased its efficiency, quality and beauty.

The basic technology of the fire place remained constant through time. Fire place technology basically consists of the insert and the surround. The former is where the fire actually burned, and the latter is the sides and the mantle.

Geniuses tend to remain as such wherever they put their minds into. Enter Benjamin Franklin, a national institution, who also played a part in the improvement of the fire place. He invented the so-called Franklin stove. It is a fire box that is free standing, the first of its kind. He also discovered that if a heavy cast iron was used, it still can produce heat even if the fire had already gone out.

Franklin’s creation was further improved by Philadelphian David Rittenhouse. He added an L-shaped stove pipe to move the air through the flames and then push out the smoke up the chimney. This became a widely used feature.

Fire places have been traditionally used to provide heat and warmth, as well as heat and cook food. But they also have the added social function of being the centerpiece of the home, where people gather and socialize in the evenings. The original fire place was called a fire pit, and was originally located in the center of the home, because there they were efficient in giving a homogenous heat all throughout the place. But with the advent of the two-storey house, it became necessary to move the fire place to the side of the house on the wall, in order that the chimney can be positioned outside the wall. The invention of the chimney is arguably the most important invention in fire place tech.

In the 17th century Prince Rupert created an improved grate that raised the wood up, thereby letting in air under it, increasing oxygen to fuel the fire. Then Count Rumsford provided a new design incorporating streamlined throats and tall, shallow fire boxes which lessened the fire-catching hazard of chimneys.

The 20th century saw the invention of centralized heating, relegating the fire place mostly to a lesser social function. Nevertheless, fire places never went out of use. Prefabricated fire places became popular. And many other innovations came into vague in line with technological advances. And during the Depression, President Roosevelt made use of the evening time when families gather by the fire, to address the country with his so-called fireside chats.

So the next time the fire place cover is either placed after the winter or laid aside during the ever-increasing cold of the fall, remember the place that the fire place occupies in the history and consciousness of men everywhere.

Everyone frets about the best fire place cover, and this simple device can make or break the winter or summer. Winters may be romantically depicted as wonderlands and white Christmases, and summers equally painted as beach parties, vacations and a time of fun, but neglecting fundamental considerations can ruin all that jazz.

When it comes to drafts that escape insulation, an elegant and unbelievably simple solution has not occurred to most folks. Enter the Magnetic fire place cover! This is the simple and inexpensive answer to the inadequacy of some covers and the vents that allow drafts to enter houses. This is the insulation to end all insulations, at least for metal vents.

Many fire place frames let in hot air during summer and cold air during winter. The devastating results? A hot or cold house incongruent with the comfort needs of the family. There is much discomfort, and disharmony in the home. What is worse, there is even an accompanying higher electric bills from overworked heaters and air conditioners. Rarely can such an inconvenience rank higher in the concerns relating to hot summers and cold winters.

Sometimes, installing glass doors does not help. Closing dampers and inlet valves for air is not enough either. At times, even the surrounding area of the junction of the mantle and floor are also not insulated enough. Junctions between tiles suck air in; they are not 100% sealed. Holes where pipes are put through are sometimes not taped.

All of the hassles of insufficient insulation results in an uncomfortable home and an annoying feeling, as if a window was left open all through the unholy hot or cold weather. And this results to pathetic measures made by homeowners such as draping unsightly blankets, plastic covers, curtains, and tapes, all eyesores, just to insulate the fire place leaks.

Now, the magnetic fire place vent cover is the perfect solution to all of these. It will take away all the stress related to insufficient and inadequate insulation. The magnetic vent cover eliminates drafts coming from metallic vents, usually found above and below many fire places. It prevents backdrafting through the simple solution of having a strip of magnet placed over a metallic vent. And when it comes to aesthetics, there are vinyl vent covers with a variety of colors to suit the individual homeowner’s esthetic tastes. Black is the most popular color, as it seems to just disappear on the vent cover. So inconspicuous! Next in popularity is the color gold. It gives the fire place a subtle, elegant look without the loud and distracting quality of bright colors.

Magnetic fire place vent covers solve the problem without any of the hassles of complicated contraptions or messy, expensive and time-consuming construction work. Try it out if it is the solution for you. In this author’s house, it was the perfect fit, like a hand in glove. Simplicity is usually warranted even in the most complicated situations. And this magnetic fire place cover solution is so simple that it has not been thought of by a lot of people.

A fire place without a good fireplace cover can still, of course, be a good fire place. Its purpose is to heat the home and in the past, it was also used for cooking. The fire place contains a firepit, where the fire is located. A chimney is usually accompanied by the fire place, although modern vents and flues have performed the same function as the chimney. And of course last the fireplace needs a fireplace cover.  The fire place is the central feature of a home.

A fire place can be constructed of brick or stone, giving it a classical look, or may be prefabricated using metal boxes. Some of the parts of a typical fire place are as follows: mantel, hearth, firepit, ashdump door, grate, lintel, chimney, chimney breast, chimney crane, damper, throat, smoke chamber, chimney chase, shroud, cap, spark arrestor, and crown.There are many sources of fuel in modern fire places. These range from wood, biomass, natural gas, or liquid petroleum gas.

There are several types of fireplaces and fireplace covers according to their method of ventilation.
The first uses chimneys or flues. These can be concrete or brick or stone. Flues can be metal lined or tile lined.  Flues can also feature a cap, spark arrestor, and chase cover.

The second type is the fire place which does not use any vent. These usually use gel or gas as fuel, and they are almost 100% efficient. However, such vent-less fire places create some problems in air quality due to the moisture released into the house. These kinds of fire places also need the safety measure of sensors for carbon monoxide and oxygen.

Nowadays, the need for fire places have largely been eliminated by the invention and use of electric heating and centralized home heating. These are more efficient, safer, less labor intensive to use, and leaves more space in the main area of the house. However, the fire place is still a historically significant part of the home, and its social function has been propped up in promoting the installation of a fire place in the design of the modern home.
Some folks, however, have maximized the functional use of their non-performing fire places by using it to wire down their phone and TV and cable lines. These are often feasible in fake fire places, but if the fire place is real, and the owner forgets that the wire is there, there is the danger of the cables being burnt, which can also be a fire hazard. Speaking of safety, prefab fire places have the additional feature of being more reliable, safer and more efficient. And they require less maintenance and cleaning compared to the brick or stone fire place.

Fireplaces, like most things nowadays, also have their own requisite accessories. There are the log boxes, fire guards, grates, andirons, fire dogs, pellet baskets, fire backs, fireplace cover, vent covers, grate heaters (also called hearth heater and heatilator, among other names). And of course there are the classical tool stands, tongs, poker, bellows, brush, and shovel.

The fire place is less and less becoming useful and popular. Using a fire place costs more energy in terms of increased heating load. However, many modern innovations have addressed this concern, and there has been an increase in the efficiency of a fire place in terms of energy efficiency and increase of heat production.

So the next time one is considering buying a home, don’t simply go solely for the centralized heating and give the additional fire place option the cold treatment. Consider the important functional and aesthetic value it can contribute to the home. Don’t simply judge it by its cover; just make sure that the right fireplace cover accompanies it in its upcoming long years of service.