Firebox repair and relining in Aloma

Partial repair or a full reline

The line between spot repair and relining depends on how much of the lining has failed. A few bad bricks in a sound wall favor spot repair. Damage spread across many bricks and joints favors relining.

Our estimate shows both options when both are reasonable, with what each includes and what it leaves. That way you can weigh the price against how long each is likely to serve, with the facts in front of you.

Notes that help before the firebox visit

A few notes help us plan the visit and bring the right materials for your firebox.

• Where the cracks, gaps or loose bricks are, back wall, sides or floor
• Whether the damage has changed since you first saw it
• Any water, rust streaks or white deposits in the firebox
• Earlier repairs you know about and roughly when they were done
• When the fireplace was last used, so the brick is cold for the visit

A musty smell from the firebox

A damp, musty smell from the fireplace, especially after rain, usually means moisture is sitting in the firebox or the masonry above it. Wet brick and ash make that smell stronger.

Our technicians look for the source of the moisture and the damage it has caused to the lining. The firebox repair is quoted with the source, often a cap or leak above, on a separate line, so the smell does not return.

Firebrick mixed with other brick

Older repairs sometimes put common brick, tile or stone inside the firebox alongside firebrick. Those materials may crack, spall or come loose sooner than the firebrick around them.

Our technicians identify any material in the lining that does not belong there and include replacing it in the estimate. The goal is a lining of firebrick throughout, laid the way the code describes.

A fireplace used only a few times a year

Many fireplaces are lit only on the cooler evenings of the year. Light use is kind to the firebox, but moisture and time still work on the joints between those fires.

An occasional look is still worth it. Our technicians inspect lightly used fireboxes the same way as busy ones, and the free inspection tells you whether yours is ready or needs attention first.