Pewaukee West fireplace repair

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

Many things can occur during building of a Pewaukee West home – not all good.

A new Pewaukee West home has multiple working components. Some involve very detailed installations to operate safely and properly. House builders, while proficient at many things, are often not experts in the precise installations of every mechanical element.

Enclosed fireplaces are a prime example. While enjoyed for their cheery ambiance and efficient room heating, improper installation of fireplace inserts can cause hazards 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 Pewaukee West. Sometimes a fireplace repair is not feasible. If the fireplace is compromised, a total fireplace replacement is required.

Recurring fireplace inspections are always advisable, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Pewaukee West, ensures that a fireplace is working properly and your family protected.

Safety concerns can be discovered with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the reason is incorrect installation. Normally an issue isn’t obvious from outside the fireplace – a closer look 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 exact manufacturer’s part. Aftermarket parts are notorious for causing 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 mandate a complete fireplace replacement. A box with rust is automatically verified as unsafe. If a fan stops working, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel must be replaced.

In these examples, the complete 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 grab the opportunity to transition 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 select an open wood-burning fireplace, rather than enclosed. While a net minus for warmth, this design has old-fashioned aesthetics that many find charming. An open fireplace is far less expensive, too – typically one-third the cost of a replacement insert.

The façade surrounding the fireplace can be completely redesigned, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. The hearth might be reimagined in limestone, tile, brick or stone. The mantle can be reworked to resemble steel or wood.

Fireplaces are a desirable feature in Pewaukee West homes for many reasons. Realistically, these benefits come with possible 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 initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.