West Bend fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during construction of a West Bend home – not all welcome.
A new West Bend house has many working parts. Some involve very exacting installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are rarely experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and efficient room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in West Bend. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring 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 West Bend, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your family protected.
Safety problems can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is improper installation. Normally a problem isn’t noticeable from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, spots 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 causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions require a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the entire fireplace system should be taken out, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat production of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might choose 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 costly, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be totally reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in West Bend homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 work wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.