Chimney inspections and repairs for Summerlake homes

Colored glass, extra embers, decorative stones or a few more logs can look like an easy upgrade for a gas fireplace. In Summerlake, a community in Orange County, the manual for your gas fireplace has the final word before anything new goes into the firebox. A gas fireplace is listed as a system, and its manual specifies the logs, embers and media and where each piece goes.

Heat & Glo's installation manual for one current model says embers cannot be placed over the burner ports it marks or in the pilot area, that they go on loosely in a single layer and that improperly placed embers interfere with burner operation and will likely cause lighting and sooting problems. The same maker calls for replacing the ember material every year.

A Vermont Castings Group direct vent manual tells owners not to use any accessory that is not approved for that fireplace. Media from another brand, glass beads in a unit not made for them or decor that covers the pilot can lead to delayed lighting, soot on the glass and logs, or flames that fail to spread across the burner.

Those are service problems, not cosmetic ones. If a new look is the goal, check what the maker offers for your model. Some makers list alternative log sets, media or panels approved for a given fireplace, and those are the ones to choose from. On a service visit we identify the model, check the logs and media against the maker's placement diagram, correct anything that has shifted and tell you what the manual allows if you want to change the look.

Summerlake homeowners pay nothing for the inspection, receive a written estimate with no hidden fees from our family-owned company and save 10% on work booked within 72 hours after it.