Enjoy Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Increase the Heat, With a Fireplace Insert!

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

Unfortunate fact is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace barely warms a room. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat escapes through 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 Transform it with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Portland!

Going right into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained unit that directs heat directly into a room, rather than sending most through a chimney. The fire is visible through a glass panel. The ambiance stays – 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 Portland. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is ideal for those who want instant, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally ignites at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad range of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and little effort 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 ignited, wood added, and air controls adjusted to control the blaze. Because it burns so efficiently, a wood fireplace insert uses much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap sources of firewood in Portland, a wood burning insert can be significantly heating source for a home.

The choice between gas or woodburning is purely user preference. Many Portland homeowners proactively install insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when building homes.

The alternative scenario for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection discovers 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 too hard.

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 through 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 delivering air to the firebox, and another for expelling gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Portland 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 carry lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes permit homeowners to avoid expensive 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 consider a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll appreciate the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!