Milwaukee County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during construction of a Milwaukee County house – not all desirable.
A new Milwaukee County house has myriad working parts. Some involve very exacting installations to work safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns 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 total fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always advisable, 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 functioning correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety threats can be found with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the culprit is incorrect installation. Often a problem isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, 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 correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the entire fireplace system should be taken out, 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 pursue improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat production of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might select 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 – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Milwaukee County homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve possible 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 installation wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.