Many things can transpire during building of a Marcy house – not all desirable.
A new Marcy house has multiple working parts. Some need very specific installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Marcy. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
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 Marcy, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the cause is improper installation. Often a problem isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these cases, the complete fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to convert 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 charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be totally redesigned, as well. 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 wanted feature in Marcy homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve potential hazards that shouldn’t be neglected. So don’t – contact Butler Chimneys for fireplace and chimney inspection and cleaning and, if needed, changing a fireplace insert. Just because installation wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.