Saint Lawrence fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can happen during erection of a Saint Lawrence residence – not all good.

A new Saint Lawrence home has multiple working parts. Some require very detailed installations to function 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 a prime example. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Saint Lawrence. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.

Recurring fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Saint Lawrence, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family safeguarded.

Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Usually a problem isn’t obvious 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 exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions mandate a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, 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 nearby façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.

Many seize the opportunity to transition 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 choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly reworked, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.

Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Saint Lawrence homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve 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 co-exist with its risks.