Washington County fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during construction of a Washington County residence – not all desirable.
A new Washington County residence has multiple working elements. Some need very exacting installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often discovered 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 advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Washington County, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your family safeguarded.
Safety issues can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is improper installation. Normally an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look 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 infamous for creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically identified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these cases, 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 project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab the moment 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 opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be totally 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 Washington County homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry possible 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 installation wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.