South Milwaukee fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can transpire during erection of a South Milwaukee home – not all wanted.

A new South Milwaukee home has myriad working elements. Some involve very specific installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical part.

Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.

Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in South Milwaukee. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.

Regular fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in South Milwaukee, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your family safeguarded.

Safety issues can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is improper installation. Often an issue isn’t noticeable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, spots 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 notorious for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically identified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.

In these situations, the entire 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 an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.

Many use the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though without 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 heat, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. 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 welcome feature in South Milwaukee homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail possible 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 work wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.