Hearth extension repair done right in Dover Shores East

A hearth extension you can tell apart from the floor

For factory-built fireplaces the same code section adds a practical rule. The hearth extension shall be readily distinguishable from the surrounding floor area. A tile that blends perfectly into the room's flooring can leave the protected area hard to see.

When a repair calls for new material, we help you choose a finish or a border that marks where the extension ends. It keeps furniture, rugs and storage off the zone that is there to catch heat and embers.

A hearth rug is an extra layer on top of the hearth

Fire-resistant hearth rugs sit on a hearth or on the floor in front of it. They catch ash and small sparks, yet the code's size rule is written for the hearth extension itself, built of noncombustible material on noncombustible support.

If a rug is covering a short or damaged extension, we recommend repairing the extension and treating the rug as an extra. We point out, too, when a rug is hiding cracks that belong on the repair list.

Telling soot stains from real cracks

Soot and ash settle into fine surface lines, and a dirty hearth can look cracked when it is only stained. The reverse also happens, with grime hiding an open crack or a hollow tile.

We clean a test area before judging the hearth, then tap and check the finish. You get a repair list for real damage and simple cleaning advice for the marks that wash away.

• Test area cleaned first
• Tiles tapped and checked
• Real damage on the repair list
• Cleaning advice for marks that wash away

The front edge of a raised hearth top

The front edge of a raised hearth top, often a bullnose or a separate edge piece, carries weight when people sit and takes kicks from shoes. Its bond tends to break before the rest of the top.

A loose edge piece is removed, cleaned and reset on a fresh bed. If it keeps coming loose, we check the support under the overhang, since an edge that hangs past its base has little to hold it.