Waukesha County fireplace repair

Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement

Many things can happen during erection of a Waukesha County house – not all good.

A new Waukesha County home has myriad working components. Some involve very specific installations to work safely and properly. Home builders, while good at many things, are rarely experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.

Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can create hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety issues with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Waukesha County. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is required.

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 Waukesha County, ensures that a fireplace is functioning correctly and your family protected.

Safety issues can be identified with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is improper installation. Often a problem isn’t viewable 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 changed, it must be substituted with the duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.

Often, though, conditions mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.

In these cases, the total fireplace system should be taken out, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already considered.

Many use the moment to transition 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 choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net negative for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the price of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, 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 resemble steel or wood.

Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Waukesha County homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve 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 initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.