Heath Mills fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during construction of a Heath Mills home – not all good.
A new Heath Mills house has myriad working components. Some involve very detailed installations to operate safely and efficiently. House builders, while skilled at many things, are rarely experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Heath Mills. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Heath Mills, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety threats can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Typically an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, finds a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions require a total 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 has to be replaced.
In these cases, the total fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab the moment to transition from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat production 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 old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be totally reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in Heath Mills homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail potential hazards that shouldn’t be overlooked. So don’t – contact Butler Chimneys for fireplace and chimney inspection and cleaning and, if needed, changing a fireplace insert. Just because work wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.