Washington County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during erection of a Washington County residence – not all welcome.
A new Washington County residence has many working parts. Some need very detailed installations to work safely and efficiently. House builders, while good at many things, are rarely experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comforting ambiance and efficient space heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Washington County. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Washington County, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety issues can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is improper installation. Often a problem isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions mandate a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, 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 project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing 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 minus for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular choices. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in Washington County homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail potential 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 initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.