Family-owned hearth repair serving Pineloch

Keeping a hearth extension from sliding

A hearth built as a panel or from loose units on top of the floor can creep away from the fireplace over time. One maker's instructions call for a means to prevent the hearth extension from shifting, together with the sealed gap at the fireplace front.

Movement shows up as a widening joint at the firebox edge or a finish sitting off square. We find what lets it move, secure it and reset the edge so the extension stays tight against the fireplace.

Telling soot stains from real cracks

Soot and ash settle into fine surface lines, and a dirty hearth can look cracked when it is only stained. The reverse also happens, with grime hiding an open crack or a hollow tile.

We clean a test area before judging the hearth, then tap and check the finish. You get a repair list for real damage and simple cleaning advice for the marks that wash away.

• Test area cleaned first
• Tiles tapped and checked
• Real damage on the repair list
• Cleaning advice for marks that wash away

A yearly look at the hearth

NFPA 211 puts chimneys, fireplaces and vents on a yearly inspection. The hearth is part of the fireplace, and a yearly look catches loose tiles and open joints while they are small.

Between visits, a quick check at home helps. Look for tiles that rock, grout that has fallen out, a gap at the firebox edge and marks on the floor past the extension, and mention any of them when you book.

• Tiles that rock
• Missing grout
• A gap at the firebox edge
• Marks on the floor past the extension

Checking hearth support from below

In houses with access under the floor, the support under a hearth can be seen from below, including the masonry or concrete that carries it and the framing around it. That view often explains a crack faster than any amount of looking from above.

Where access exists, we look before opening the hearth. Where it does not, we open the smallest area that will answer the question, and we tell you in advance how that opening will be closed.