Lac La Belle fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during construction of a Lac La Belle residence – not all good.
A new Lac La Belle home has multiple working parts. Some need very exacting installations to work safely and properly. House builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While enjoyed for their comforting ambiance and effective room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Lac La Belle. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not possible. 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 Lac La Belle, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family safeguarded.
Safety problems can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More regularly than not, the reason is improper installation. Often a problem 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 changed, it must be swapped out with the duplicate 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 benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately identified as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these cases, the complete fireplace system should be removed, along with the nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The project creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many use the opportunity 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 opt for an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for warmth, this design has traditional aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – usually one-third the cost 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 desirable feature in Lac La Belle homes for multiple 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 something wasn’t done right the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.