Mequon fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during construction of a Mequon home – not all desirable.
A new Mequon house has multiple working elements. Some involve very specific installations to function safely and efficiently. Home builders, while good at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their comfy 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 threats with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Mequon. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Mequon, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety concerns can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the source is incorrect installation. Often an issue isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, finds 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 creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions merit a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these cases, the complete fireplace system should be taken out, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat production 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 warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing 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 look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in Mequon homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry possible hazards that shouldn’t be ignored. 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 the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.