Sylvan Mounds fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during building of a Sylvan Mounds residence – not all good.
A new Sylvan Mounds residence has many working elements. Some require very exacting installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are rarely experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Sylvan Mounds. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Sylvan Mounds, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.
Safety threats can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is improper installation. Normally an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the complete fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the opportunity to change over 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 opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Sylvan Mounds homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 something wasn’t done right the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.