Enjoy Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Heighten the Warmth, With a Fireplace Insert!

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

Unfortunate reality is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace barely warms a room. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat escapes through the chimney. An open fire actually draws more heat out of a space than it could possibly return. Homeowners run a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on flammable surfaces, as well.

Ready to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more Transform it with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Lake Forest!

Fitting directly into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained appliance that sends heat directly into a room, rather than losing most through a chimney. The fire is visible via a glass panel. The ambiance stays – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can select between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are offered by Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Lake Forest. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is perfect for those who want immediate, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally ignites at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad range 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 efficiently, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap sources of firewood in Lake Forest, 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 entirely user preference. Many Lake Forest homeowners proactively add insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when building homes.

The alternative scenario for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection reveals cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will avoid many issues, and is often less expensive than making repairs. The decision might not be difficult.

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

Smoke is exhausted via 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 delivering air to the firebox, and another for expelling gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Lake Forest 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 have lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes permit homeowners to bypass costly chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another advantage 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 consider a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!