Oakwood fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during erection of a Oakwood home – not all wanted.
A new Oakwood residence has many working parts. Some involve very exacting installations to operate safely and efficiently. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and efficient room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Oakwood. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete 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 Oakwood, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.
Safety threats can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Normally a problem isn’t noticeable 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 replaced, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for generating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied 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 a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these situations, the complete 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 make improvements they might have already considered.
Many use the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat generation of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be totally reworked, 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 wanted feature in Oakwood 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 installation wasn’t done right the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.