Family-owned hearth repair serving Dr. Phillips

Measuring the opening decides the rest of the plan

Every size question on a hearth goes back to the fireplace opening, meaning its width, its height and whether its bottom sits at floor height or above it. Those three numbers decide which thickness and which extension size the code expects.

Our specialists take them at the start of the visit and write them on the estimate, so the plan for the hearth is tied to your fireplace instead of a generic drawing.

• Width of the opening across the front
• Height from the firebox floor to the top of the opening
• Height of the firebox floor above the extension
• Depth and width of the existing extension

When the whole hearth finish should be replaced

Replacing the whole finish makes sense when many tiles are hollow, the matching tile is gone, or the extension has to grow to meet the size rule anyway. It also gives a chance to rebuild any layers the original job left out.

Full replacement is a bigger scope and a bigger visual change, so we only suggest it with a reason. The estimate lists removal, base preparation, the new finish, the edges and trim, and any flooring that has to be adjusted around the new extension.

• Removal and disposal
• Base preparation or rebuild
• New finish and setting materials
• Edges, trim and floor transitions

Fire tools and grates that chip the hearth

Pokers, shovels and log grabbers get dropped. A heavy grate slid across the opening drags on the edge where the firebox floor meets the extension. Over a few seasons those small impacts add up to chipped glaze and cracked edge pieces.

We repair the damaged pieces and suggest simple changes, such as a tool stand placed off the edge and a pad under the log carrier, that keep the new finish looking new.

Why the setting bed matters on a hearth

Under every tile is a bed that holds it, whether a mortar bed, a thin-set layer or an older adhesive. When that bed was thin, patchy or the wrong product, tiles let go even over a good base.

When we reset tiles, we remove the old bed down to a clean, sound surface and set each tile in full contact. Hollow spots under corners are what crack tiles later, and a full bed is what prevents them.

• Old bed removed to sound material
• Full contact under every tile
• Setting product suited to the location
• Curing directions followed