Masonry and factory-built fireplace repair in Lake Shore Village

Know the fireplace type before anything gets fixed

An open masonry fireplace, a factory-built wood unit, a gas appliance and an electric fireplace can all sit behind the same kind of mantel. They fail in different ways and they are repaired under different rules. Masonry is built on site to the Florida Building Code. A factory-built unit is a tested system that has to stay within its listing. Gas and electric units follow their makers' instructions.

So the first thing our technician does at your Lake Shore Village home is name the fireplace in front of you. That one step decides which parts can be used, which code sections and manuals apply and which of our services takes the job. A wood fireplace stays with this repair service. A gas or electric unit is routed to the visit built for it, and you hear why before anyone picks up a tool.

Glass door frames on a masonry fireplace

Glass doors on a masonry fireplace are held to the face or inside the opening by clamps, brackets or masonry anchors. Over time the frame can loosen, brackets can bend in the heat and the doors can sit crooked, leaving gaps at the sides.

A loose frame rattles and can come away from the opening when the doors are pulled. Frames forced into an opening of the wrong size also put stress on the face around them.

Our technicians check the frame fit, the fixings and the face behind them. We tighten or replace mounting hardware, reset a frame that has shifted and tell you if the opening needs a different frame altogether. Replacement doors are sized to the opening and installed to the door maker's instructions. The estimate names the parts and the fixing method, so a later owner knows how the doors are held.

Door gaskets and baffles in a wood insert

A wood-burning insert is a closed stove set into the fireplace, and it depends on a tight door. The rope gasket around the door and the glass can wear flat or fray, letting air in where it should not. Many inserts also have a baffle above the fire that guides smoke and heat, and it can crack, warp or slip out of place.

Both are model parts. The gasket size and the baffle material are set by the insert's maker, and the manual shows how they fit. A generic gasket that is too thin, or a baffle cut from other material, changes how the insert burns.

The insert's label tells us the model. We replace the gasket and baffle with the maker's parts and check the door seal before leaving. EPA guidance says to keep the doors closed except when loading or stoking a live fire, and a sound gasket is what makes that work. The model and the parts are written on the estimate as well.

Carbon monoxide alarms near the sleeping areas

Fuel-burning fires produce carbon monoxide, and EPA wood-burning guidance warns that it can be released into the home. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises a CO alarm on each floor of the house and outside the bedrooms, powered by batteries or with a battery backup. NFPA heating safety tips also call for installing and maintaining them.

If a CO alarm goes off, take everyone out into fresh air and phone 911 from there. Do not go back in to check the fireplace.

Alarms age and batteries run down. Test them the way the alarm maker directs and replace units when their instructions say to. A fireplace that has just been repaired is a good reminder to check the alarms in the rooms around it and in the hallway outside the bedrooms. Keep the alarm instructions with the fireplace records so the replacement date is easy to find.