Milwaukee County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during building of a Milwaukee County home – not all desirable.
A new Milwaukee County house has many working parts. Some need very exacting installations to work safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Milwaukee County. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is required.
Regular fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Milwaukee County, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety concerns can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Often an issue isn’t identifiable 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 changed, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for generating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions merit a complete 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 must be replaced.
In these instances, the complete fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the opportunity to transition from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat generation of wood, gas is far more convenient (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 charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be totally reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. 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 Milwaukee County homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 something wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.