West Granville fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during construction of a West Granville house – not all good.
A new West Granville residence has myriad working elements. Some involve very specific installations to function safely and properly. House builders, while good at many things, are rarely experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their comforting ambiance and efficient room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can generate hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in West Granville. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is required.
Recurring fireplace inspections are always recommended, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in West Granville, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family protected.
Safety problems can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Normally a problem isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for generating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions mandate 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 has to be replaced.
In these cases, the complete fireplace system should be taken out, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the moment to convert from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat production 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 minus for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. 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 look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in West Granville homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with potential hazards that shouldn’t be overlooked. 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 the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.