Oakwood fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Oakwood home – not all good.
A new Oakwood house has multiple working components. Some involve very exacting installations to function safely and efficiently. Home builders, while good at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While enjoyed for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Oakwood. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Oakwood, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones safeguarded.
Safety threats can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Normally an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, finds 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 creating problems 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 used.
Often, though, conditions require a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the total fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the moment to convert from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat generation of wood, gas is far more user friendly (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might opt for 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 totally redesigned, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular choices. The hearth might be redone in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Oakwood homes for a variety of 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 right initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.