Prospect fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during building of a Prospect home – not all desirable.
A new Prospect home has multiple working elements. Some require very specific installations to operate safely and efficiently. House builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and efficient space 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 risks with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Prospect. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Prospect, ensures that a fireplace is functioning correctly and your family protected.
Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Normally a problem isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, spots 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 issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these examples, the total fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding 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 moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat production of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be majorly reworked, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Prospect homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry possible 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 work wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.