New Berlin fireplace repair

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

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

A new New Berlin residence has many working parts. Some require very detailed installations to operate safely and properly. House builders, while skilled at many things, are often not experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.

Enclosed fireplaces are often one. While welcomed for their cheery ambiance and effective room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide escaping. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in New Berlin. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.

Recurring fireplace inspections are always recommended, 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 operating correctly and your family safeguarded.

Safety threats can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the source is incorrect installation. Often an issue isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer look inside, by a trained eye, spots 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 creating 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 automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not a choice. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.

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

Many grab the moment to change over 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 comforting. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.

The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely redesigned, too. 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 look like steel or wood.

Fireplaces are a desirable feature in New Berlin homes for a variety of 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 work wasn’t done properly initially, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.