Washington County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during erection of a Washington County residence – not all good.
A new Washington County home has multiple working parts. Some involve very exacting installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are often not experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their comforting ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Washington County. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Recurring 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 working correctly and your loved ones protected.
Safety threats can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Often a problem isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, discovers 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 infamous for creating problems 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 used.
Often, though, conditions demand a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these cases, the entire fireplace system should be taken out, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab the moment to convert from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat generation of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative 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 totally reworked, too. 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 Washington County homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.