Enjoy Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Boost the Warmth, With a Fireplace Insert!

On a frosty Oakland day, nothing “warms” up a room (metaphorically speaking) like a roaring fireplace. The light, sound and movement all mix for a romantic, relaxing atmosphere.

Unfortunate fact is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace barely heats a room. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat goes up the chimney. An open fire actually sucks more heat out of a space than it could ever return. Homeowners run a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on flammable surfaces, as well.

Ready to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more enjoyable with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Oakland!

Fitting directly into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained appliance that propels heat directly into a room, rather than losing most through a chimney. The fire is visible via a glass panel. The ambiance remains – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can choose between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are available from Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Oakland. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is custom-made for those who want instant, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally goes on at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad selection of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and little work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert generates significantly more heat than gas. The work involved is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically started, wood added, and air controls adjusted to control the blaze. Because it burns so efficiently, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap access to firewood in Oakland, a wood burning insert can be noticeably) more cost-effective, and a nice {supplemental heating source for a home.

The decision between gas or woodburning is entirely user preference. Many Oakland homeowners proactively install insert-style fireplaces for greater heat and cleanliness, often when building homes.

The alternative situation for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection reveals cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will avoid many issues, and is often less costly than making repairs. The decision might not be difficult.

Fireplace inserts are made of heavy-gauge sheet steel. The doors are cast iron, which allows great heat conduction. Fire is completely enclosed within, seen through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is expelled via a new stainless steel liner added inside the chimney. Wood fireplace inserts use a single 6-inch liner; gas, two 3-inch liners, one for providing air to the firebox, and another for exhausting gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Oakland in one day. If the former is added, a new fuel line is run from a gas source elsewhere in the house.

New stainless steel chimney liners have lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes allow homeowners to skip costly chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another advantage of fireplace inserts? If power goes out, they remain a steady, reliable heat source. In severe weather, they can literally be a lifesaver.

Ready to look into a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll appreciate the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!