Hales Corners fireplace repair

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

Many things can happen during building of a Hales Corners home – not all welcome.

A new Hales Corners home has many working parts. Some require very exacting installations to operate safely and efficiently. 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 enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Hales Corners. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.

Recurring 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 Hales Corners, ensures that a fireplace is functioning correctly and your family protected.

Safety issues can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is improper installation. Usually a problem isn’t noticeable 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 changed, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions demand a complete 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 has to be replaced.

In these situations, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.

Many grab the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat generation of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.

Others might opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade around the fireplace can be majorly 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 Hales Corners homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 work wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.