Milwaukee County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Milwaukee County home – not all good.
A new Milwaukee County home has many working parts. Some need very detailed installations to work safely and efficiently. House builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their comforting ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Milwaukee County. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Milwaukee County, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your family protected.
Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the cause is improper installation. Normally an issue isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, finds a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites 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 working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these examples, the complete fireplace system should be removed, 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 considered.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat production of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might opt for 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 pricey, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, as well. 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Milwaukee County homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with possible hazards that shouldn’t be ignored. 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 properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.