Grafton fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during building of a Grafton house – not all welcome.
A new Grafton home has myriad working parts. Some need very exacting installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are often not experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While enjoyed for their comfy ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create risks 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 Grafton. Occasionally 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 Grafton, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your loved ones safeguarded.
Safety issues can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Usually an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions require a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately marked as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the entire fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to convert from wood burning to gas. Though without 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 price of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be majorly 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 desirable feature in Grafton homes for many 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 correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.