Your fireplace hearth, repaired and measured in Lake Pickett

How far the extension reaches in front and to the sides

Section R1001.10 sets the size. A hearth extension reaches at least 16 inches in front of the fireplace opening and at least 8 inches beyond each side of it. Those figures apply to openings smaller than 6 square feet.

We measure your existing extension against the opening, then mark where it meets or misses the rule. A hearth that looks generous can still be short at one side, and a narrow apron often explains why floor finishes near the fireplace carry heat marks.

Closing the gap where the fireplace meets the hearth

Where a factory-built unit meets its hearth extension, one maker's instructions call for the gap between the fireplace frame and the extension to be sealed with a noncombustible material. An open seam there is a path for embers toward the floor structure.

Grout that has fallen out of that joint, or a caulk never meant for the location, turns up often on hearth visits. We clear the seam, reseal it with a suitable noncombustible material and note the work on your invoice.

When a flooring job cut the hearth back

New flooring projects sometimes trim or remove part of a hearth extension to make the new floor fit. The finished room looks tidy, and the extension quietly ends up shorter than the fireplace needs.

We measure the extension against the opening, compare it with the size rule and show you any shortfall. The fix may be extending the hearth into the new floor, with the flooring trimmed back and finished around it by whoever installed it.

• Extension measured against the opening
• Shortfall shown on the estimate
• Hearth extended into the floor
• Flooring trimmed and finished around it

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.