Saint Francis fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can happen during erection of a Saint Francis house – not all desirable.

A new Saint Francis home has multiple working elements. Some involve very exacting installations to work safely and efficiently. House builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.

Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their comfy ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Saint Francis. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is required.

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 Saint Francis, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family safeguarded.

Safety issues can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the culprit is improper installation. Usually an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, spots a compromised joint, section or non-working part.

If a part can be changed, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.

In these examples, 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 work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.

Many seize the opportunity to transition 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 select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely redesigned, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. 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 desirable feature in Saint Francis homes for a variety of 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 installation wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.