Buena Vista fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can occur during building of a Buena Vista home – not all desirable.

A new Buena Vista home has many working components. Some need very exacting installations to operate safely and efficiently. Home builders, while proficient 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 room 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 discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Buena Vista. Periodically a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.

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 Buena Vista, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.

Safety problems can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the culprit is improper installation. Usually an issue isn’t noticeable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, finds 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 generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.

Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.

In these situations, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.

Many use the opportunity 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 select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be totally reworked, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. 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 welcome feature in Buena Vista 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 something wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.