Waterloo fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during construction of a Waterloo home – not all welcome.
A new Waterloo house has myriad working parts. Some need very specific installations to operate safely and according to plan. Home builders, while good at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create 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 identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Waterloo. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Waterloo, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your family safeguarded.
Safety concerns can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Normally an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look 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 duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these cases, the entire fireplace system should be taken out, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat generation 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 charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely 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 desirable feature in Waterloo 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 work wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.