Prefab fireplace repair specialists for Azalea Park homes

Factory-built units lined with loose firebrick

Loose firebrick lines the steel walls of some factory-built fireplaces, set in the maker's pattern with its joint material and spacers. One maker's instructions cover that firebrick wall installation step by step, with wall spacers and grate retainers listed as parts.

When a brick in this kind of unit cracks or falls, the repair follows that maker's method and materials. We check the spacers and retainers along with the bricks, since a loose wall can lean toward the fire.

The damper in a factory-built fireplace

A factory-built fireplace has its own damper, a blade near the top of the firebox worked by a handle on the front face. In one maker's design, pushing the handle up through a keyway frees the weighted blade to open, and pushing it down locks the blade closed.

Bent handles, worn keyways and blades that stick open or closed are repaired with the model's own parts. We check how the damper moves and seals, and add damper work to the estimate only when it is needed.

• Handle and keyway
• Weighted blade
• Open and locked positions
• Seal when closed

Glass doors on a factory-built fireplace

Glass doors on a factory-built fireplace have to suit that fireplace. Section R1004.5 of the residential code says a gasketed fireplace door shall not be installed on a factory-built fireplace unless the fireplace system has been specifically tested, listed and labeled for that use under UL 127.

One maker offers its own door models for each size of fireplace. Before recommending any door repair or replacement, we identify what the listing allows, since a door that fits the opening may still be a door the fireplace was never tested with.

The first fire after a prefab repair

New parts can come with break-in instructions from their maker, and we follow whatever comes with yours. Before we leave, we open and close the damper, check the doors or screen and walk you through lighting the first fire.

Keep that first fire modest and watch how it draws. Anything that seems different from before is worth mentioning to us, so we can talk it through while the repair is fresh.

• Damper opened and closed
• Doors or screen checked
• Break-in instructions followed
• A modest first fire