Greenfield fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during building of a Greenfield house – not all wanted.
A new Greenfield house has many working parts. Some require very specific installations to function safely and efficiently. Home builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause 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 uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Greenfield. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular 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 Greenfield, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family protected.
Safety issues can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is incorrect installation. Normally a problem isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically identified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these cases, the total fireplace system should be taken out, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat generation of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be majorly reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular choices. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Greenfield homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry potential hazards that shouldn’t be overlooked. 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.