Milwaukee County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Milwaukee County house – not all welcome.
A new Milwaukee County home has multiple working components. Some involve very exacting installations to function safely and according to plan. House builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can create hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often uncovered 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 necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Milwaukee County, ensures that a fireplace is working properly and your family safeguarded.
Safety threats can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Typically an issue isn’t viewable 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 substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these instances, the total fireplace system should be taken out, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab 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 select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be completely 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 Milwaukee County homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry potential 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 installation wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.