Many things can happen during erection of a Rockfield residence – not all desirable.
A new Rockfield home has myriad working components. Some need very specific installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While desired for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety concerns with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Rockfield. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.
Regular fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Rockfield, 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 regularly than not, the cause is improper installation. Usually a problem isn’t viewable 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 changed, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions merit a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.
In these situations, the complete fireplace system should be uninstalled, 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 thought about.
Many grab the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be totally reworked, 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 desirable feature in Rockfield homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with 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 work wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.