North Shore fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during erection of a North Shore residence – not all welcome.
A new North Shore home has myriad working components. Some need very exacting installations to work safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are rarely experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While enjoyed for their cheery 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 escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in North Shore. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular 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 North Shore, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety concerns can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is improper installation. Normally a problem isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions mandate a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing 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 minus for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be totally redesigned, 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 North Shore 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 something wasn’t done right initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.