Family-owned prefab fireplace repair serving Richmond Estates

Factory-built units lined with loose firebrick

Loose firebrick lines the steel walls of some factory-built fireplaces, set in the maker's pattern with its joint material and spacers. One maker's instructions cover that firebrick wall installation step by step, with wall spacers and grate retainers listed as parts.

When a brick in this kind of unit cracks or falls, the repair follows that maker's method and materials. We check the spacers and retainers along with the bricks, since a loose wall can lean toward the fire.

Manufactured firelogs in a prefab fireplace

Some makers allow processed solid-fuel firelogs. One maker's manual says to use only firelogs evaluated for the application, to follow the warnings on the package and to avoid poking or stirring them while they burn.

If you use firelogs, keep the package and your fireplace manual together and read both. We can tell you what your model's manual allows during the free inspection.

• Only firelogs evaluated for the fireplace
• Package warnings followed
• No poking or stirring while they burn

Dents and damage in the inner flue

The stainless inner flue of a factory-built chimney carries the smoke and heat. Dents from dropped tools, crushed sections from roof work and separated joints narrow or break that path.

We note damage we can see from the firebox and the top, and replace damaged sections with the same maker's pipe. Where a stretch cannot be seen, the estimate says so plainly.

• Dents from dropped tools
• Sections crushed during roof work
• Separated joints
• Stretches that could not be seen

Room drafts near the opening

One maker's location advice for its factory-built fireplaces is to avoid places affected by drafts, air conditioning ducts, windows or doors. A supply register blowing across the opening can push smoke out of the firebox.

When a unit smokes only on certain days, we check what is blowing at it. Moving or redirecting a register is often a simpler fix than any fireplace repair.

• Supply registers near the opening
• Doors and windows in the room
• Return grilles pulling air