Our Process
The details behind fixing your Casselberry fireplace
Throat repairs that open up a choked fireplace draft
Smoke travels from the firebox through the throat, past the damper and up the smoke chamber before it reaches the flue. The Florida Building Code (R1001.6) requires that whole passage to be no smaller in cross-section than the flue itself, with the throat at least 8 inches above the opening and at least 4 inches deep.
Fallen brick, a damper frame set crooked or an old repair that narrowed the throat can squeeze that passage. Our specialists check it with the damper open and point out any spot where the opening has been reduced. Restoring the full passage is often part of curing a fireplace in Casselberry that has started to smoke.
Cracked or sinking fireplace hearth repair
Concrete or masonry is required for both the hearth beneath the fire and the extension ahead of it, supported by noncombustible materials, with no combustible material left against the underside (R1001.9). The code sets the hearth at 4 inches thick and the extension at 2 inches, with a thinner extension allowed only where the firebox opening is raised at least 8 inches.
A crack across the hearth, tiles lifting or an extension that has settled below the floor can mean the support under it has moved. We check what the hearth sits on before repairing the surface. New tile laid over a moving hearth only hides the fault, so the Casselberry estimate starts with the support and ends with the finish.
Replacing firebox panels in a factory-built fireplace
Factory-built fireboxes are lined with refractory panels shaped for one model. Cracks, crumbled corners and missing pieces can leave the metal firebox behind them exposed to the fire. The owner's manual for the model explains when a damaged panel can stay in service and when it has to be replaced.
We order the panel listed for your fireplace instead of one that looks close in size, because factory-built fireplace manuals warn against installing damaged, incomplete or substitute components. The new panel is fitted as the manual shows, and the old one leaves your Casselberry home with the rest of the debris.
Burning habits that protect a repaired firebox
EPA wood-burning guidance is to burn only dry, split, well-seasoned wood and never trash, cardboard or painted or pressure-treated wood. It also warns never to start a fire with gasoline, kerosene or charcoal starter. Those habits keep smoke down, which also helps a freshly repaired firebox and damper stay clean.
Before we leave, our pros go over the first-fire instructions for the products used in your repair, since some refractory materials ask for a gradual start. The steps that apply to your Casselberry fireplace are written on your record, so nobody in the house has to remember them.
