Saukville fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during erection of a Saukville home – not all good.
A new Saukville house has many working parts. Some need very exacting installations to work safely and efficiently. House builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their comfy ambiance and effective room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Saukville. Periodically a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular 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 Saukville, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.
Safety threats can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Typically a problem isn’t viewable 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 substituted with the exact 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 benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically flagged 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 process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat generation of wood, gas is far more user friendly (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 comforting. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Saukville homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve 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 something wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.