Loose tiles and cracked hearths fixed in Lawsona/Fern Creek

How thick a masonry hearth has to be

Section R1001.9.1 of the state's residential building code sets the minimum thickness of a masonry fireplace hearth at 4 inches. That is the solid floor under the fire, built of concrete or masonry and carried on noncombustible support.

Thickness matters on a repair because an old hearth is sometimes chipped down, ground flat or patched over the years. When we open a damaged area, we look at what remains under the finish and tell you whether the base still has the depth the code expects, or whether it has to be built back up before anything decorative goes on top.

Protecting the room during hearth repair

Hearth work happens in the middle of a living space. Cutting tile and breaking out old setting beds makes dust, and heavy material has to cross your floors.

Our crew lays protection from the door to the fireplace, contains the work area and cleans up at the end of each visit. We tell you in advance which days will be noisy and dusty, so the household can plan around them.

• Floor protection from door to fireplace
• A contained work area
• Cleanup at the end of each visit
• Notice of the noisy and dusty days

Edge profiles for households with small children

Square hearth corners can sit near the height of a small child's head, and many families ask for rounded edge pieces or a softer profile when a hearth is repaired.

We can fit bullnose or eased edge pieces where the chosen material allows, and we point out when a change in edge shape affects the height or size of the extension. The protection comes first, and the profile is chosen within it.

• Bullnose edge pieces
• Eased corners
• Extension size kept intact

Hearth tiles that have shifted out of line

Tiles that have slid, tilted or opened their joints show movement in the bed or the base. A hearth whose grout lines have wandered is telling you the tiles are no longer held firmly.

We check whether the movement is old and stable or still happening. Stable shifts can be reset during a finish repair. Active movement is traced to its cause first, because resetting tiles over a moving base only straightens them for a while.