Fireplace Repair
Fireplace repair in Altamonte Springs, part by part
Finding the fireplace fault before ordering parts
A symptom shows where to start looking. It does not tell you what to replace. Smoke at the opening can come from a closed or broken damper, a narrowed passage or a house pulling air the wrong way. Crumbling material on the hearth can fall from the firebox, the smoke chamber or a factory-built panel. Each of those has a different repair and a different price.
From the hearth up to the damper, the fireplace is checked, and we ask when the problem started, what you burn and whether anything changed in the room. On your Altamonte Springs estimate the failed part is named first and the repair second, so you never pay for a part that was only a guess.
Hearth extension repair when the hearth falls short
Sparks and rolling embers land in front of the opening, which is why the hearth extension has minimum dimensions. Section R1001.10 asks for 16 inches of extension in front of the opening and 8 inches to either side, and for 20 and 12 inches once the opening reaches 6 square feet.
Flooring projects sometimes trim an extension back, and some remodels left it short. During the free inspection we measure yours and tell you whether it meets the dimensions for your opening. If it does not, our pros explain how the extension can be enlarged with masonry that suits the finish in your Altamonte Springs home.
Repairing sagging brick over the fireplace opening
Over the fireplace opening, the brick is carried by a lintel, most often a steel angle. The code requires that lintel to be noncombustible and to bear at least 4 inches onto the masonry at each end, with the throat or damper at least 8 inches above it (R1001.7). Heat and rust can bend or thin a steel lintel with time.
Cracks stepping up from the corners of the opening, a gap under the first row of brick or a visible dip across the top are the signs we check. Where the lintel has failed, our pros support the masonry, replace the lintel and reset the brick above it, then show you the finished opening before the site is cleaned up.
A gas smell near the fireplace comes first
If you smell gas, get out of the house first, then call the gas company or the fire department once you are outside. NFPA safety guidance says not to light the appliance and to leave the home right away, and gas appliance manuals add that you should not touch electrical switches or use a phone inside the building.
Once the gas utility or the fire department has made the home safe, call us to arrange the repair. Our team works on the fireplace around the gas appliance, and faults in the appliance go to our gas fireplace service. The fireplace in your Altamonte Springs home stays off until the smell has been explained.
