Nashotah fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Nashotah house – not all desirable.
A new Nashotah residence has many working components. Some need very specific installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are often not experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Nashotah. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Nashotah, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety problems can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Usually an issue isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions merit a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately marked as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, 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 work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat generation 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 negative for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly reworked, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Nashotah homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve potential hazards that shouldn’t be ignored. 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 co-exist with its risks.