Joep Eijkens photos: Chimney

Chimney: A vertical structure incorporated into a building and enclosing a flue or flues that carry off smoke; especially: the part of such a structure extending above a roof. An ordinary domestic chimney consists of three parts: the throat, the smoke chamber, and the flue. The throat is the opening immediately above the fire; it usually narrows to a few inches in width just below the damper, a door that can be closed when the furnace or fireplace is not in use. Above the damper is the smoke chamber. At the bottom of the smoke chamber is a smoke shelf formed by setting back the masonry at the top of the throat to the line of the back wall of the flue; its function is to deflect downdrafts that might otherwise blow smoke out into the room. The smoke chamber narrows uniformly toward the top; it slows down drafts and acts as a reservoir for smoke trapped in the chimney by gusts across the chimney top. The flue, the main length of the chimney, is usually of masonry, often brick, and metal-lined. Vertical flues perform best, though a bend is sometimes included to reduce rain splash; bends are also necessary when several flues are united in a common outlet.

Joep Eijkens photos

fleursdumal.nl magazine

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