Our Services
Repairing tile, brick and stone hearths
The inspection is free, and you choose the finish after seeing each option priced in writing.
Framing kept clear of a masonry fireplace
Behind and around a masonry fireplace, the code wants combustible framing kept 2 inches or more away at the front and sides and 4 inches or more at the back, with the air space left open except for fireblocking. A deep hearth repair can expose the edges of that framing. Those gaps keep the wood around the fireplace from being heated by the masonry over years of use.
When a repair opens the hearth far enough to see the framing, we check those gaps before closing it again. If framing sits too close, we explain what we found and how it can be corrected, and nothing is covered over without your agreement.
Materials chosen for the heat they will see
Every layer of a hearth extension has to be noncombustible, from the base to the finish. The setting materials and grout near the opening also see more heat than the same products laid elsewhere in the house. Organic backer boards, wood underlayment and ordinary construction adhesives have no place under a hearth extension.
We choose the base, the setting bed and the grout for the position they will be in and use each exactly as its maker directs. If you have picked a finish, we check that the maker allows it in front of a fireplace before it is ordered. Decorative stone veneers, wood-look tiles and resin products vary widely in what their makers allow in front of a fireplace, so the product sheet is checked every time.
Hearth repair alongside other trades
Hearth work often happens during a bigger project, with new floors, a new fireplace wall or a painted room. Each trade needs to know where its work stops. A flooring crew may be ready to lay boards the same week the hearth base is curing, and the order of work decides whether the edge meets cleanly.
We agree in writing who prepares the base, who installs the hearth finish and who completes the flooring edge. That way a finished tile edge never waits for work nobody included, and the hearth fits the new room when everything is done. We also check that new flooring keeps its required distance from the opening before it is laid up to the hearth.
Getting ready for the hearth visit
Before we arrive, let the fireplace cool and clear the hearth of screens, tools, baskets and decorations. There is no need to lift a tile or chip at a crack to prepare. If the hearth is under a rug or furniture, move it aside so the whole surface can be seen.
Tell us what you have noticed, when it started and whether the fireplace has been used since. If you still have the original tile or stone, or know the product name, mention it, since it makes matching far easier. If the damage appeared after a specific event, such as a dropped log, heavy rain or new flooring, that detail often points straight to the cause.
