North Shore fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during building of a North Shore home – not all good.
A new North Shore house has many working parts. Some involve very detailed installations to operate safely and according to plan. House builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and effective space heating, improper 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 North Shore. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in North Shore, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your loved ones safeguarded.
Safety threats can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Often a problem isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, spots 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 infamous for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the total fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many use the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat production of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might select 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 expensive, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely 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 North Shore homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry possible 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 work wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.