Prefab fireplace repair specialists for Rio Pinar homes

Cleaning a round metal flue

The inner flue of a factory-built chimney is thin stainless steel, round and smooth. One maker's troubleshooting advice for a dirty or blocked chimney mentions a properly sized chimney brush, since the brush has to fit the round pipe it cleans.

During a prefab repair we note the condition of the flue and whether deposits are present. Cleaning is scheduled with a brush that fits your flue, and dents or damage found along the way go on the repair list.

Factory-built fireplaces in manufactured homes

Some factory-built fireplaces are approved for manufactured homes. One maker's manual allows installation in an aftermarket, permanently located manufactured home, forbids installation in a sleeping room of a mobile home and says the structural integrity of the home's floor, walls and ceiling or roof must be maintained.

Repairs in a manufactured home follow those limits, with the unit's manual and listing checked first. We discuss any cut into framing with you and the manual before it happens.

• Unit approved for manufactured homes
• No installation in a sleeping room
• Floor, walls and roof structure kept intact

Discolored steel and scorched panels

Blue or straw coloring on steel and dark scorching on panels near the top of the firebox show where heat has been highest. Some color change is normal on a working fireplace, while heavy discoloration with warping points to fires hotter than the design.

We compare the marks with the rest of the unit and with the maker's list of overfiring signs. The finding shapes both the repair and the advice we give on how the fireplace is used afterward.

When the owner's manual is missing

Manuals go missing when homes change hands. Fireplace makers such as Heat & Glo keep manual libraries online, searchable by model, and the rating plate gives the model name to search for.

We look up the manual for your unit when the plate is readable and bring the relevant pages to the repair. You get a copy of what we used, so the next service visit starts from the same document.

• Model read from the rating plate
• Manual found in the maker's library
• Relevant pages brought to the repair
• A copy left with you