Parts of a Fireplace

A wood-burning fireplace from the room, then cut through from the side: 16 parts.

Parts of a Fireplace

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Chimney breast
  2. Mantel
  3. Surround
  4. Jambs
  5. Lintel
  6. Firebox
  7. Fireback
  8. Grate
  9. Hearth
  10. Outer hearth (hearth extension)
  11. Throat
  12. Damper
  13. Smoke chamber
  14. Flue
  15. Ash dump
  16. Ash pit

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the chimney above it

All 16 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 7 main parts 7

  1. Mantel The shelf above the fireplace. Also the structure that holds up the masonry above it.
  2. Surround The decorative frame round the fireplace opening. It includes the mantelpiece and the side supports.
  3. Lintel The bar across the top of the fireplace opening.
  4. Firebox The chamber where the fire burns.
  5. Hearth The floor of the fireplace, where the fire sits.
  6. Throat The narrow opening above the fireplace, where the damper usually sits. Also called the waist.
  7. Flue The passageway in the chimney that carries the smoke out.

From the room 5

  1. Chimney breast The part of the chimney that projects into the room. It holds the fireplace.
  2. Jambs The sides of the fireplace opening.
  3. Fireback The inside back wall of the fireplace, masonry or metal. It reflects heat into the room.
  4. Grate A frame, usually iron bars, that holds the fuel.
  5. Outer hearth (hearth extension) The part of the hearth that projects into the room. Also called the front hearth.

Inside the chimney 4

  1. Damper Closes the flue when the fireplace is not in use. A metal door.
  2. Smoke chamber The space above the throat that narrows up into the flue.
  3. Ash dump A hearth opening to sweep ashes down into the ash pit.
  4. Ash pit The space under the hearth where swept ashes collect. They stay until they are taken out.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) Wikipedia, Fireplace, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireplace : a fire contained in a firebox, with a chimney or other flue for the exhaust; a fireplace may have a foundation, hearth, firebox, mantel, grate, lintel, lintel bar, overmantel, damper, smoke chamber, throat and flue; the surround of mantelpiece and side supports; the glossary: ash dump (an opening in the hearth to sweep ashes into the ash pit), back or fireback (the inside rear wall that reflects heat), chimney breast (the part of the chimney projecting into the room), damper (a metal door to close the flue), flue (the passage up the chimney), hearth (the floor; the part projecting into the room the front or outer hearth), jamb (the side of the opening), mantel (the shelf above, or the structure supporting the masonry above), smoke shelf, throat or waist (the narrow area above the fireplace where the damper usually is); a grate is a frame of iron bars to hold fuel. (2) Wikipedia, Chimney, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney : the space inside a chimney is the flue; a throat damper is a metal plate low in the chimney, just over the firebox, opened and closed by a lever to seal the fireplace off from the chimney. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a masonry wood-burning fireplace in two views: from the room, then cut through to show the path of the smoke. Start with the 7 main parts, then the room and the inside.

Read the full guide

From the room

The chimney breast stands out from the wall. The mantel shelf and the surround frame the opening; its sides are the jambs and the lintel runs across the top. The fire burns on a grate in the firebox, whose fireback reflects heat out over the hearth.

Where the smoke goes

Smoke rises through the throat, the narrow gap where the damper closes the chimney off when the fire is out, into the smoke chamber and up the flue. Ashes swept into the ash dump fall into the ash pit below.

  • The hearth is two parts: the floor of the firebox, and the outer hearth that projects into the room in front of it.

Questions and answers

What is the shelf above a fireplace called?

The mantel, or mantelpiece. With the side supports it makes up the surround that frames the opening.

What does a damper do in a fireplace?

It is a metal plate in the throat, just above the firebox, that closes off the chimney when the fireplace is not in use, so outside air does not come down into the room.

What is the floor of a fireplace called?

The hearth. The part that projects into the room in front of the opening is the outer or front hearth, often called the hearth extension.

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