Pike Lake fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can transpire during erection of a Pike Lake house – not all welcome.
A new Pike Lake home has many working elements. Some involve very specific installations to function safely and according to plan. Home builders, while good at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their comfy ambiance and effective room heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Pike Lake. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Pike Lake, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your loved ones safeguarded.
Safety issues can be uncovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the source is incorrect installation. Often an issue isn’t viewable 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 replaced, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions require a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically flagged as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these instances, the entire fireplace system should be uninstalled, along with the surrounding 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 use the opportunity to convert from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat production 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 traditional aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade surrounding the fireplace can be majorly reworked, as well. 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 welcome feature in Pike Lake homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail potential 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 properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.