Okauchee Lake fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Could Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during erection of a Okauchee Lake house – not all welcome.
A new Okauchee Lake house has many working elements. Some require very specific installations to work safely and according to plan. Home builders, while skilled at many things, are hardly ever experts in the precise installations of every mechanical component.
Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and efficient space heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers leaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety risks with a fireplace insert are often discovered during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Okauchee Lake. Periodically a fireplace repair is not possible. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.
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 Okauchee Lake, ensures that a fireplace is operating correctly and your family protected.
Safety issues can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Usually 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 exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for causing problems such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace causes a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions demand a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically marked as unsafe. If a fan stops working, 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 nearby façade. It’s a multi-day undertaking for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already thought about.
Many use the moment to change over from wood burning to gas. Though without the heat generation of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find comforting. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – usually one-third the cost of a replacement insert.
The façade around the fireplace can be majorly redesigned, too. 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 resemble steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a welcome feature in Okauchee Lake homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits involve 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 something wasn’t done correctly the first time, doesn’t mean you have to co-exist with its risks.