Wood burning fireplace repair in Bay Hill

Getting the room ready for the repair visit

A little preparation makes the visit quicker. Let the fireplace go fully cold, and leave the ashes where they are unless they are cool and you already have a covered metal container for them. Clear the hearth and the floor in front of it, and move furniture and decor back from the opening.

Keep pets and children out of the room while the work is under way. Set out any owner manual, past invoice or home inspection note about the fireplace, and jot down when the problem first appeared.

Our crew lays down drop cloths and protects the floor and nearby furniture before any tool comes out. At the end of the job the area is vacuumed and wiped down, and the old parts are either taken away or left for you if you want to see them.

• No fire in the fireplace on the day of the visit
• A clear path from the door to the hearth
• Any manual or paperwork within reach
• A note of when the fault started

Door gaskets and baffles in a wood insert

A wood-burning insert is a closed stove set into the fireplace, and it depends on a tight door. The rope gasket around the door and the glass can wear flat or fray, letting air in where it should not. Many inserts also have a baffle above the fire that guides smoke and heat, and it can crack, warp or slip out of place.

Both are model parts. The gasket size and the baffle material are set by the insert's maker, and the manual shows how they fit. A generic gasket that is too thin, or a baffle cut from other material, changes how the insert burns.

The insert's label tells us the model. We replace the gasket and baffle with the maker's parts and check the door seal before leaving. EPA guidance says to keep the doors closed except when loading or stoking a live fire, and a sound gasket is what makes that work. The model and the parts are written on the estimate as well.

Gas fireplace faults get their own repair service

Gas fireplaces, gas inserts and vented gas log sets have their own parts, controls and venting rules. A pilot that will not stay lit, a burner that will not light, a remote that stopped working or glass that has clouded over are gas appliance faults, and our gas fireplace repair service handles them.

If you smell gas, do not light the fireplace or switch anything on. Leave the home and call the gas company or 911 from outside, as NFPA heating safety tips advise.

On a fireplace service call, our technicians still look at the masonry, hearth, surround and mantel around a gas unit, because those are fireplace repairs whatever the fuel. Estimates in Bay Hill split the two kinds of work so each goes to the right technician, and both can be handled on one visit when the schedule allows.

Ordering model parts and the wait in between

Some fireplace parts ship from the maker, especially for factory-built units. When the right panel, damper part or door has to be ordered, the order uses the model information from the label, so the part that arrives is the part that fits.

What happens in between depends on the fault. A broken panel or a damper stuck shut means the fireplace stays unused until the part is in. A missing handle knob or a torn screen curtain may allow careful use with precautions we explain in writing.

You get the part description, where it is coming from and what to do until it arrives. The return visit to your Bay Hill home is set once the part lands, and the approved price does not change because the part took longer to reach us.