Jefferson County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during building of a Jefferson County house – not all wanted.
A new Jefferson County home has many working parts. Some involve very detailed installations to work safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Jefferson County. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Jefferson County, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your loved ones protected.
Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the source is improper installation. Typically a problem isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, finds a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these instances, the total fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat generation of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular choices. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Jefferson County homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail possible hazards that shouldn’t be ignored. So don’t – contact Butler Chimneys for fireplace and chimney inspection and cleaning and, if needed, changing a fireplace insert. Just because something wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.