Milwaukee County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during building of a Milwaukee County house – not all good.
A new Milwaukee County house has many working parts. Some need very detailed installations to function safely and efficiently. Home builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and efficient room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can create hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Milwaukee County. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Milwaukee County, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety issues can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Usually an issue isn’t obvious 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 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 sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a complete 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 must be replaced.
In these instances, the complete fireplace system should be removed, 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 make improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without 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 negative for warmth, 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 surrounding the fireplace can be completely redesigned, 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 entail potential 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 installation wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.