Maintain Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Boost the Warmth, With a Fireplace Insert!

On a frigid Durham day, nothing “warms” up a room (metaphorically speaking) like a blazing fireplace. The light, sound and movement all blend for a romantic, relaxing ambiance.

Unfortunate truth is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace hardly heats a space. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat is lost through the chimney. An open fire actually draws more heat out of a space than it could ever return. Homeowners run a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on combustible surfaces, as well.

Ready to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more pleasurable)? {Upgrade with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Durham!

Inserted directly into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained appliance that propels heat directly into a room, rather than sending most through a chimney. The fire can be seen through a glass panel. The ambiance stays – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can select between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are available from Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Durham. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is custom-made for those who want immediate, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally ignites at the flip of a switch. Available in a wide array of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and little work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert creates significantly more heat than gas. The work involved is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically started, wood added, and air controls adjusted to control the blaze. Because it burns so completely, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap sources of firewood in Durham, a wood burning insert can be noticeably) more cost-effective, and a nice {supplemental heating source for a home.

The choice between gas or woodburning is purely user preference. Many Durham homeowners proactively add insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when constructing homes.

The alternative situation for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection discovers cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will bypass many issues, and is often less costly than doing repairs. The decision might not be too hard.

Fireplace inserts are made of heavy-gauge sheet steel. The doors are cast iron, which allows highly-effective heat conduction. Fire is completely enclosed within, seen through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is expelled through a new stainless steel liner added inside the chimney. Wood fireplace inserts use a single 6-inch liner; gas, two 3-inch liners, one for providing air to the firebox, and another for exhausting gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Durham in one day. If the former is added, a new fuel line is run from a gas source elsewhere in the house.

New stainless steel chimney liners carry lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes allow homeowners to skip pricey chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another benefit of fireplace inserts? If power goes out, they remain a steady, reliable heat source. In severe weather, they can literally be a lifesaver.

Ready to look into a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!