Metal fireplace and chimney repair in Lake Fairview

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

What may touch the face of the fireplace

One maker's instructions allow combustible materials such as wallboard and plywood to meet the sides and top of the fireplace face, provided they stay off the face itself. Brick, glass, tile or other noncombustible materials may overlap the face if they leave louvers and other openings clear.

The same manual calls for noncombustible mortar or adhesive when a noncombustible facing overlaps the face. Refacing jobs that ignored those rules can cause trouble, and we check them whenever a prefab repair brings us to the surround.

• Wallboard to the sides and top, never over the face
• Noncombustible facing may overlap
• Louvers and openings left clear
• Noncombustible mortar or adhesive only

Rattles, ticks and pops from a prefab unit

Steel expands as it heats and contracts as it cools, so a factory-built fireplace ticks and pops as a fire starts and dies. A new rattle, a loud bang or a change in the sound can point to a loose panel, a free damper weight or a separated joint.

Tell us when the sound happens and where it seems to come from. We match that description with what we find in the firebox and along the chimney.

Prefab fireplaces in condominiums and townhomes

In condominiums and townhomes, the chimney of a factory-built fireplace can run through a shared attic or chase, and the association may have rules about roof and exterior work.

We suggest checking with the association before work that reaches the roof or a shared chase. Inside your unit, the repair follows the fireplace's listing, and our written scope gives the association a clear description of the work.

• Association rules checked first
• A written scope for the association
• Roof and shared chase work coordinated