Waukesha County fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can transpire during erection of a Waukesha County home – not all wanted.

A new Waukesha County home has multiple working components. Some involve very detailed installations to function safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.

Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.

Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Waukesha County. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.

Recurring fireplace inspections are always wise, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Waukesha County, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your loved ones protected.

Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Normally an issue isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection inside, by a trained eye, identifies a compromised joint, section or non-working part.

If a part can be replaced, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for generating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions merit a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.

In these situations, the total fireplace system should be removed, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day process 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 moment to change over 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 opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. 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 Waukesha County homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with possible hazards that shouldn’t be ignored. 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 right initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.