Big Bend fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during erection of a Big Bend home – not all welcome.
A new Big Bend residence has multiple working elements. Some need very detailed installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and effective space heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can create risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers flying onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often uncovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Big Bend. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is necessitated.
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 Big Bend, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety concerns can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is improper installation. Usually an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, discovers a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be swapped out with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace ignites a house fire, insurance coverage could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were used.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops functioning, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these examples, the total fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates an opportunity, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already considered.
Many grab the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking 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 traditional 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 completely redesigned, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in Big Bend homes for multiple reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve possible 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 installation wasn’t done right initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.