Carrollville fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Carrollville residence – not all wanted.
A new Carrollville house has myriad working components. Some involve very detailed installations to work safely and efficiently. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Carrollville. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Carrollville, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety problems can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is improper installation. Normally a problem isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, finds 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 notorious for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions mandate a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.
Many use the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Carrollville homes for many 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 something wasn’t done right initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.