Masonry Fireplaces

Take a screwdriver and briskly scrape some of the mortar joints of your fireplace. If the mortar crumbles out easily, you have a problem. When damage is found in the fireplace, you can be certain the chimney crown iscausing the problem.

This is what happens: Water gets in the cracks on the crown and filters down to the smoke shelf just above the damper. It mixes with the ash and soot lying there to make lye which attacks the mortar holding the bricks together. This can literally make the fireplace fall apart because nothing is left to hold the bricks together. Repairs cannot be done with ordinary cement because it will not stand up to the high heats encountered. We solve the problem by carefully raking out the loose mortar to prepare the firebox to receive a new high-solids cement made to withstand the extreme heat of a fireplace. This ensures a durable life for your fireplace.

Prefab fireplaces

Unlike in standard fireplaces, where the firebrick is four inches thick, the refractory panels in prefabricated fireplaces are only 7/8 to one inch thick. We do not recommend patching those as we have never found a patch to hold and give service like it should. Using a high-heat refractory cement, we pour our own panels, reinforcing them with metal to give them a strong and durable life. Using the proper material, and knowing how properly to do the repair is essential to a long-lasting repair.
Behind the firebrick panels are two pieces of thin sheet metal forming a 3 inch air chamber. The firebrick panels protect the sheet metal chamber walls. Air is drawn in the bottom vents of the fireplace, flows around the firebox keeping the wooden framing members behind it relatively cool. These units are also called zero clearance fireplaces because they can be placed next to combustible materials such as framing studs. So their integrity is of utmost importance.

You can get a factory replacement panel if you dig far enough but you will have just what you had that failed in the first place. Factory replacements are made of fire clay which is not as durable as our long lastingrefractory panels. We pour them to be an exact fit and reinforce them with a metal mesh. 

Here is an example of a dangerous prefab fireplace in need of repair (left), and a panel we have poured to repair a firebox (right).

The firebrick is protecting the thin sheet metal wall of the fireplace. If not taken care of, the fires built in it can eventually burn throughthe metal and reach the wooden framing members. You can imagine the result if that were to happen. In order to get the proper size and shape, we pour them ourselves using the proper materials for long-lasting protection.

This is a service we provide to our local service area. We have never shipped our panels but would expect it to be very costly.