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

On a frigid Monterey day, nothing “warms” up a room (metaphorically speaking) like a roaring fireplace. The light, sound and movement all combine for a romantic, relaxing environment.

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

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

Inserted right into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained unit that propels heat directly into a room, rather than sending most up a chimney. The fire is visible via a glass panel. The ambiance stays – 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 Monterey. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is ideal for those who want immediate, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally turns on at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad array of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and minimal work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert emits significantly more heat than gas. The work involved is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically lit, wood added, and air controls adjusted to moderate the blaze. Because it burns so thoroughly, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap sources of firewood in Monterey, a wood burning insert can be significantly heating source for a home.

The decision between gas or woodburning is purely user preference. Many Monterey homeowners proactively put in insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when building 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 get around many issues, and is often less costly than doing repairs. The decision might not be difficult.

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

Smoke is exhausted via a new stainless steel liner installed 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 exhausting gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Monterey 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 allow homeowners to bypass 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 consider a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll appreciate the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!