Family-owned fireplace restoration in Mercy Drive
Honest restoration advice in Mercy Drive. If your fireplace needs less than you feared, our technicians say so.
- Licensed & insured
- Locally run
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service available
What your Mercy Drive restoration estimate covers
What we confirm in Mercy Drive so the finished fireplace does what you expect.
- Smoke chamber parging and smoke shelf
- Flue cleaning and check above the fireplace
- Mantel and trim distance from the opening
- Lintel condition over the opening
Planning the restoration of your Mercy Drive fireplace
Plain talk about firebrick, dampers and brick faces from our Mercy Drive crew.
Open joints between firebricks
The Florida Building Code limits joints between firebricks to 1/4 inch and calls for medium-duty refractory mortar meeting ASTM C199 to lay them. Years of heating and cooling erode those thin joints until gaps run straight through the lining.
We rake out failed joints and repoint them with refractory mortar made for firebox heat. On a restoration in Mercy Drive, open joints are one of the first things we check, since they are a modest repair while the brick around them is still sound.
Paint inside the firebox
Some owners paint a stained firebox black to freshen it up. Paint can hide cracked firebrick and open joints, and ordinary paint inside a firebox burns off in the first fires, giving off fumes and flakes.
If your firebox has been painted, we look closely at the joints and brick faces under the coating. Where it hides a problem, the repair comes first. You also get a straight answer on what should and should not be applied inside a firebox before any finish is discussed.
Cracks that run through the fireplace face
A stepped crack climbing through the mortar joints of the face, or a crack that continues from the firebox into the wall, is different from a surface hairline. It can point to movement in the fireplace structure or the support beneath it.
We check whether the crack is old and stable or still moving, and whether it lines up with other damage. Cosmetic repair waits until the cause is understood, and if a structural opinion is needed, we say so plainly.
Hairline cracks at the edge of the opening
Fine cracks often appear in the joints right around the opening, where the brick heats and cools fastest. Many are cosmetic. Some widen a little each season and let heat work into the wall.
We record their width and length, check whether the brick beside them has loosened and recommend either repointing those joints or simply watching them. Your Mercy Drive estimate says which, and why.
Other work in Mercy Drive
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Your Mercy Drive restoration questions, answered
Two common questions from our restoration visits in Mercy Drive.
Can you take paint off our brick fireplace?
Often, once we know what is under it. In a home built before 1978, the paint should be tested for lead first, because disturbing lead paint is regulated work. Where lead is ruled out, a stripping method is tested on a small section before the whole face.
Is the damper part of a restoration?
Yes. A rusted, warped or missing damper is repaired or replaced so it opens fully and closes firmly. The Florida Building Code calls for a metal damper that can be worked from the room.
Request your free estimate
Share the job details and arrange a free inspection with our local team.
- Free inspection
- No hidden fees
- Family owned and operated
Need an answer now? Call (352) 675-6376
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