West Milwaukee fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during construction of a West Milwaukee home – not all desirable.
A new West Milwaukee house has multiple working components. Some require 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 part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in West Milwaukee. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in West Milwaukee, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your loved ones protected.
Safety concerns can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Typically an issue isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, identifies 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 issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions merit a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these cases, 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 work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many use the moment to transition 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 opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be completely reworked, 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in West Milwaukee homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail potential 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 work wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.