Lake Ripley fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during construction of a Lake Ripley home – not all welcome.
A new Lake Ripley home has myriad working parts. Some need very detailed installations to work safely and according to plan. House builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their comfy ambiance and efficient space heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Lake Ripley. Periodically a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Recurring 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 Lake Ripley, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.
Safety problems can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is improper installation. Typically an issue isn’t obvious 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 replaced, it must be substituted with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for generating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions require a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the total 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 institute improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the moment 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 choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, 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 choices. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Lake Ripley homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail 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 something wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.