Summit Center fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during building of a Summit Center house – not all wanted.
A new Summit Center home has multiple working elements. Some involve very specific installations to work safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are rarely experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Summit Center. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Summit Center, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety concerns can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is improper installation. Typically an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating 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 used.
Often, though, conditions merit a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately marked as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these situations, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding 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 thought about.
Many use the opportunity to convert from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 heat, this design has old-fashioned 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 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 wanted feature in Summit Center homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry possible 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 work wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.