Washington County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during erection of a Washington County house – not all welcome.
A new Washington County home has many working components. Some involve very exacting installations to function safely and properly. House builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their comforting ambiance and efficient space heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Washington County. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular 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 Washington County, ensures that a fireplace is working properly and your family protected.
Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is improper installation. Normally an issue isn’t obvious 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 swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes 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 identified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the complete fireplace system should be removed, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab the opportunity to change over 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 warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be completely redesigned, as well. 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 wanted feature in Washington County homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve 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 work wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.