Enjoy Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Increase the Heat, With a Fireplace Insert!

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

Unfortunate truth is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace hardly heats a space. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat goes up the chimney. An open fire actually pulls 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 enjoyable with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Lake Forest!

Going 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 via a glass panel. The ambiance remains – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can choose between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are available from 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 turns on at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad range of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and minimal work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert generates significantly more heat than gas. The work required is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically ignited, wood added, and air controls adjusted to moderate the blaze. Because it burns so effectively, 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 significantly heating source for a home.

The decision between gas or woodburning is entirely user preference. Many Lake Forest homeowners proactively add insert-style fireplaces for greater heat and cleanliness, often when building homes.

The alternative situation 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, seen through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is expelled 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 providing air to the firebox, and another for expelling gases.

Butler Chimneys typically 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 carry lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes permit homeowners to skip 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 look into a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll appreciate the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!