New Berlin fireplace repair

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

Many things can transpire during building of a New Berlin house – not all wanted.

A new New Berlin home has myriad working parts. Some require very exacting installations to operate safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.

Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and efficient room heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often found during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in New Berlin. Occasionally a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is necessitated.

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 New Berlin, ensures that a fireplace is functioning properly and your loved ones protected.

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

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

Often, though, conditions merit a total 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 examples, the entire 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 use the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though not possessing the heat generation 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 warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically 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 options. 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 New Berlin homes for many 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 installation wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.