Meeker fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during erection of a Meeker residence – not all desirable.
A new Meeker house has multiple working elements. Some require very exacting installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their comforting ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Meeker. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Meeker, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety issues can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Typically a problem isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection 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 duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately verified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these cases, the entire fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat production 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 minus for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be totally reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. 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 desirable feature in Meeker homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with potential 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 live with its risks.