Firebox repair and relining in Southport

Joints that have worn back from the brick face

Firebox joints wear with every fire. Over time the mortar recedes behind the brick face, leaving grooves that trap soot and let heat reach further into the wall. In places the joint can open right through.

Our crew rakes out the weak mortar to a sound depth and repoints the joints with refractory mortar, keeping them thin and flush. When only a few joints have failed, that repair can be modest. When most of them have, the estimate compares repointing with relining.

Old patches that did not hold

Many fireboxes carry the marks of earlier fixes, a smear of gray filler over a crack or a lump of material where a brick used to be. When those patches crack, loosen or fall out, the damage behind them is usually larger than it was.

We remove failed patch material down to sound brick and joints. That shows the true extent of the problem, and it gives the new firebrick and refractory mortar a clean surface to bond to. The estimate explains what we expect to find, and we tell you if the removal reveals more.

Smoldering fires and the firebox

EPA Burn Wise advises building hot fires and notes that a smoldering fire is neither safe nor efficient. A fire that smolders for hours coats the firebox in soot and holds moisture against the brick.

A well-built fire burns cleanly and dries the lining as it goes. Our technicians can show you how to lay a fire that catches quickly in your firebox, which is easier on the repair and on the whole fireplace.

Mortar for laying brick, patch for small repairs

Laying or resetting firebrick calls for refractory mortar with thin joints. Filling a small chip or a shallow void in otherwise sound brick is a different task, sometimes handled with a refractory patching product.

We use each product for the job it was made for. A patch never stands in for a missing brick, and the estimate tells you which parts of the firebox get new brick, which get new joints and which, if any, get a patch.

Notes that help before the firebox visit

A few notes help us plan the visit and bring the right materials for your firebox.

• Where the cracks, gaps or loose bricks are, back wall, sides or floor
• Whether the damage has changed since you first saw it
• Any water, rust streaks or white deposits in the firebox
• Earlier repairs you know about and roughly when they were done
• When the fireplace was last used, so the brick is cold for the visit