Monterey fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Need a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can happen during building of a Monterey residence – not all welcome.
A new Monterey home has many working parts. Some involve very specific installations to function 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 a prime example. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and efficient space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Monterey. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Regular fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring a professional service such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Monterey, ensures that a fireplace is working correctly and your family protected.
Safety concerns can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is improper installation. Usually an issue isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer inspection 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 duplicate manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be denied if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately verified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.
In these cases, the total fireplace system should be taken out, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to make improvements they might have already thought about.
Many seize the moment 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 old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less pricey, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely reworked, as well. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular options. 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 Monterey homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail 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 installation wasn’t done properly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.