Cold Spring fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can happen during erection of a Cold Spring house – not all good.

A new Cold Spring residence has myriad working elements. Some require very detailed installations to function safely and efficiently. House builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.

Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comfy ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Cold Spring. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is required.

Regular fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Cold Spring, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones protected.

Safety problems can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is improper installation. Typically an issue isn’t viewable 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 replaced, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.

Often, though, conditions demand a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.

In these instances, the total fireplace system should be taken out, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.

Many grab the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat production of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.

Others might opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.

The façade surrounding the fireplace can be totally redesigned, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular choices. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.

Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Cold Spring homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with potential hazards that shouldn’t be neglected. 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 correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.