Your fireplace hearth, repaired and measured in Oakland

Inner hearth and hearth extension are two different floors

The inner hearth is the floor of the firebox itself, where the fire sits. The hearth extension starts at the opening and reaches into the room. They are built from different materials and fail for different reasons, so we name which one is damaged before writing a scope.

Cracked firebrick on the firebox floor belongs with firebox repair, since that floor takes direct flame. Loose tile, a cracked slab or a short apron in front of the opening is hearth repair. When both need work, the estimate lists them as separate lines so you can see what each part of the job fixes.

When a raised firebox allows a thinner extension

The same code section carries an exception. Where the firebox opening starts 8 inches or more above the top of the hearth extension, a 3/8 inch layer of brick, concrete, stone, tile or other approved noncombustible material is thick enough for the extension.

Many raised fireplaces qualify and many flush ones do not. We measure the height from the extension to the bottom of the opening before recommending a thin replacement finish, because the tile that is fine in front of a raised firebox can fall short in front of one set at floor height.

White deposits on a brick hearth

White, powdery deposits on brick or grout are salts carried to the surface by moisture. On a hearth they point to water somewhere, whether a spill that soaked in, a leak above the fireplace or damp rising from below.

We note where the deposits sit and follow the moisture back to its source. Cleaning them off is easy, and keeping them away depends on stopping the water. If the source is a roof or chimney leak, that repair is scheduled separately and the hearth is finished after it.

• A spill that soaked in
• Water from a chimney or roof leak
• Damp rising from below

Permits for hearth work

Whether hearth work needs a permit depends on the scope and on the building department that covers the address. Replacing a few tiles is one thing, and rebuilding an extension or changing its size can be another.

We check the requirement for your address when the scope calls for it and build any permit step into the plan. You know before work starts whether a building department inspection is part of the job.