Stonebank fireplace repair

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

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

A new Stonebank home has myriad working parts. Some need very detailed installations to operate safely and properly. Home builders, while proficient at many things, are not always experts in the precise installations of every mechanical part.

Enclosed fireplaces are one example. While desired for their comforting ambiance and effective space heating, wrong installation of fireplace inserts can generate hazards that threaten life and home: carbon monoxide leakage. Smoke backup. Live embers escaping onto outside surfaces.

Safety problems with a fireplace insert are often identified during a fireplace inspection and cleaning in Stonebank. Periodically a fireplace repair is not workable. If the fireplace is compromised, a complete fireplace replacement is needed.

Recurring fireplace inspections are always prudent, for both safety and operational efficiency. Hiring an expert such as Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Stonebank, ensures that a fireplace is functioning correctly and your loved ones safeguarded.

Safety concerns can be revealed with both gas and wood-burning fireplaces. More often than not, the cause is incorrect installation. Often a problem isn’t viewable from outside the fireplace – a closer check inside, by a trained eye, identifies 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 creating issues such as smoke backup, or exhaust not drafting properly. If a fireplace sparks a house fire, insurance benefits could be turned down if substitute aftermarket parts were involved.

Often, though, conditions require a total fireplace replacement. A box with rust is immediately marked as unsafe. If a fan stops operating, replacement is not an option. A degraded refractory panel has to be replaced.

In these instances, 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 a window, though, for a homeowner to institute improvements they might have already thought about.

Many seize the moment to change over 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 negative 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 reworked, too. Tile, stone or brick veneer, or composite wood are popular selections. 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 welcome feature in Stonebank homes for a variety of reasons. Realistically, these benefits carry 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 work wasn’t done correctly initially, doesn’t mean you have to live with its risks.