ACCENT ON FIREPLACES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 94, 10 April 1941, Page 44

ACCENT ON FIREPLACES

How To Get T he Maximum Heat

(Written for "The Listener’ by

L.J.

S.

fireplaces back into use, and there arises once again the thought of fuel. Actually a great saving can be made in fuel by taking into consideration details in the building of fireplaces and fires, which will give added warmth without increasing the use of wood and coal. The construction of fireplaces counts for much in the distribution of heat. Their size depends mainly upon the size of the room, the number of windows and doors in it, and also the number of outside walls. Rooms with a number of outside walls are always inclined to be chilly. A cosy and unusual type is the corner fireplace, where the chimney is built squarely into one corner of the toom, and the grate formed by cutting half-way into either side of the lower brickwork. This type of fireplace is best without any shelves, but a line of tiles or vertically placed bricks would be effective, provided that it kept to the lines of the chimney. No matter what size the fireplace may be, never make the mistake of having too much heavy surrounding brickwork. This will only detract from the appearance of cheerfulness and warmth, and it invariably upsets the balance of the room, days are bringing open

Fire Bricks and Back Logs Fire bricks are a great asset in the building of grates. Lighter in appearance than the ordinary bricks, they will stand any amount of heat without breaking up, and also give greater warmth to a fire by storing the heat and radiating it out into the room. Back logs are essential in the making of a good wood fire, for they, too, serve to throw the heat of the fire out into the room, rather than up the chimney, and are likewise a saving in wood. Underneath ventilation is, of course, a vital point when building either wood or coal fires, In town the coal fire is more in use than the wood fire, and here, too, a cheerful blaze can be achieved with the use of far less coal than is generally used, if a thought is given to a few small details. Coal slack, which is seldom of much use for stoking a fire, may be made into effective little brickettes if it is put into small cardboard boxes or cartons before placing it on the fire. One or two of these will keep the fire in for hours, Lighters made from the odd ends of candles or tallow are a great help in the lighting of any type of fire.