Fireplace is now operational

I finally got busy with getting the fireplace looked at in my rental property (see Fireplace costs and Done Deal - basement tenant). When I had it inspected last year, the contractor told me not to use the fireplace because there are holes in the brick wall that could allow carbon monoxide to enter the house.

I had a technician from Direct Energy come look at it. I don't generally like dealing with Direct Energy - they give a four hour window of when they're going to come, and I've had experiences where I've waited and they didn't even show up. Dealing with them has been frustrating at times.

However, I wanted to get this fireplace operational, and if that meant waiting four hours for a technician to arrive, then that's what I prepared myself to do.

As it turns out, the technician arrived at only one hour into the four hour window. He cleaned the fireplace and tested it. It worked. He checked it for carbon monoxide leaks and there were none. As far as the holes in the brick walls go, they have nothing to do with the gas fireplace. They were probably used for ventilation with the original fireplace but serve no purpose with the gas fireplace unit in place.

So he declared the fireplace operational and safe to use. He spent 45 minutes on the premises and the charge was $130. Considering the value having a functional fireplace adds to the property, the peace of mind I get from knowing my tenants aren't going to get carbon monoxide poisoning, and knowing how much it could have cost me if I'd had to replace the fireplace, it was a worthwhile expense.