Your fireplace hearth, repaired and measured in Dover Estates

Keeping a good base under a new surface

Not every hearth replacement needs demolition to the floor. When the concrete or masonry base is sound, thick enough and properly supported, the finish can be removed and renewed on top of it.

We confirm the base before promising that shortcut, because a new finish cannot fix what lies under it. Saving a good base usually shortens the job and reduces dust, and the estimate shows it as its own step.

• Base checked for soundness
• Thickness confirmed
• Support confirmed
• Finish renewed on top

A hearth that cracked again after an earlier repair

When a hearth cracks in the same place after a repair, the earlier work treated the symptom. The cause usually lies beneath the finish, in movement of the base, a joint in the slab or a support nobody checked.

Bring whatever you know about the earlier job to the free inspection. We look past the finish, explain why the crack came back and write a scope that deals with the cause, so this repair does not become one more in a series.

Waiting before the first fire after a repair

Setting beds, mortar and grout need time to cure before they meet heat. Each product's maker publishes its own curing directions, and a fire lit too soon can crack fresh work.

We tell you when the fireplace can be used again, based on the materials used, and write it on your invoice. If you need the fireplace by a certain date, mention it at booking so the schedule leaves room for the cure.

• Setting bed cure
• Grout cure
• Sealer cure on natural stone
• The date written on your invoice

Damage that only shows once the finish is off

Some hearth problems stay hidden until the tile comes up, such as a cracked slab, an old patch, wood left under the base or a void where support has washed out.

We tell you before starting which findings would change the job, and we stop to show you if one appears. Nothing is added to the work without your approval, and the revised scope and price are written down first.

• A cracked slab under sound tile
• An old patch in the base
• Wood left under the hearth
• A void where support washed out