Maintain Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Heighten the Warmth, With a Fireplace Insert!

On a frosty Wauwatosa day, nothing “warms” up a room (metaphorically speaking) like a roaring fireplace. The light, sound and movement all mix for a romantic, relaxing environment.

Unfortunate reality is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace hardly warms a space. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat escapes through the chimney. An open fire actually draws more heat out of a space than it could possibly return. Homeowners endure a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on combustible surfaces, as well.

Want to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more comfortable with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Wauwatosa!

Going directly into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained component that sends heat directly into a room, rather than losing most up a chimney. The fire is visible through a glass panel. The ambiance remains – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can choose between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are offered by Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Wauwatosa. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is custom-made for those who want immediate, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally goes on at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad array of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and minimal work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert creates significantly more heat than gas. The work involved is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically ignited, wood added, and air controls adjusted to control the blaze. Because it burns so thoroughly, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap sources of firewood in Wauwatosa, a wood burning insert can be additional heating source for a home.

The choice between gas or woodburning is entirely user preference. Many Wauwatosa homeowners proactively install insert-style fireplaces for greater heat and cleanliness, often when designing homes.

The alternative situation for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection discovers cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will avoid many issues, and is often less costly than doing repairs. The decision might not be too hard.

Fireplace inserts are made of heavy-gauge sheet steel. The doors are cast iron, which allows great heat conduction. Fire is completely enclosed within, viewable through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is expelled through a new stainless steel liner added inside the chimney. Wood fireplace inserts use a single 6-inch liner; gas, two 3-inch liners, one for delivering air to the firebox, and another for expelling gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Wauwatosa in one day. If the former is added, a new fuel line is run from a gas source elsewhere in the house.

New stainless steel chimney liners have lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes permit homeowners to bypass pricey chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another advantage of fireplace inserts? If power goes out, they remain a steady, reliable heat source. In severe weather, they can literally be a lifesaver.

Ready to consider a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll appreciate the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!