Jericho fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during erection of a Jericho home – not all good.
A new Jericho house has multiple working parts. Some involve very detailed installations to operate safely and according to plan. House builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comforting ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Jericho. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.
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 Jericho, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your family safeguarded.
Safety concerns can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is improper installation. Often an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, spots a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these examples, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be totally redesigned, 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Jericho homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with potential hazards that shouldn’t be overlooked. 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.