Sylvan Mounds fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can occur during construction of a Sylvan Mounds home – not all welcome.

A new Sylvan Mounds house has many working parts. Some involve very detailed installations to operate safely and efficiently. House builders, while proficient at many things, are rarely experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical component.

Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While desired for their comfy ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.

Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Sylvan Mounds. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.

Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Sylvan Mounds, ensures that a fireplace is working properly and your family protected.

Safety threats can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is improper installation. Typically an issue 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 replaced, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were used.

Often, though, conditions require a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.

In these cases, the entire fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already thought about.

Many seize the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 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 surrounding the fireplace can be completely redesigned, 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 desirable feature in Sylvan Mounds homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with potential hazards that shouldn’t be overlooked. 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 properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.