Ottawa fireplace repair
Fireplace Repair? For Safety’s Sake, You Might Require a Fireplace Replacement
Many things can occur during building of a Ottawa home – not all good.
A new Ottawa home has myriad working components. Some require very detailed installations to function safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the detailed installations of every mechanical element.
Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While welcomed for their comfy ambiance and efficient room heating, incorrect installation of fireplace inserts can generate risks that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.
Safety threats with a fireplace insert are often revealed during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Ottawa. Periodically a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is needed.
Recurring 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 Ottawa, ensures that a fireplace is operating properly and your loved ones protected.
Safety threats can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Usually an issue isn’t identifiable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, spots a compromised joint, section or non-working part.
If a part can be changed, it must be substituted with the exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are infamous for creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting correctly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance coverage could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.
Often, though, conditions require a complete 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 cases, the total fireplace system should be removed, along with the surrounding façade. It’s a multi-day process for professionals such as Butler Chimneys. The work creates a window, though, for a homeowner to pursue improvements they might have already considered.
Many seize the opportunity to change over from wood burning to gas. Though lacking the heat production of wood, gas is far more convenient (and less labor intensive) as fuel.
Others might choose an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for heat, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less costly, too – typically one-third the price of a replacement insert.
The façade buttressing the fireplace can be completely 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 look like steel or wood.
Fireplaces are a wanted feature in Ottawa homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits entail potential 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 co-exist with its risks.