Fireplace

Fireplace restoration in Lake Charm, part by part

Refractory mortar for a restored firebox

Firebox joints are laid in refractory mortar, and the code names medium-duty refractory mortar that meets ASTM C199 for the job. Many old fireboxes have been patched over the years with ordinary mortar, caulk or cement, which may not stand up to the heat of a fire.

During restoration those patches come out and the joints are rebuilt in refractory mortar, kept thin and tight. The product and its curing instructions are written on your record, so you know exactly when the restored fireplace in Lake Charm is ready for its first fire.

Keeping the original firebox shape when restoring

The shape of a firebox decides how it draws. The code sets a masonry firebox at least 20 inches deep, with an exception for Rumford fireplaces, which are shallower and taller by design, at least 12 inches deep and at least one-third as deep as the opening is wide (R1001.6).

A restoration keeps the shape the fireplace was built with. Our specialists measure the firebox before relining it and do not deepen, narrow or square it to suit a stock part. If a past repair in your Lake Charm fireplace changed the shape and hurt the draft, we show you and explain the fix.

Matching mortar to softer old brick

Stronger is not better when it comes to mortar on old brick. The Park Service repointing brief shows a wall where hard portland cement mortar, less permeable than the soft brick, trapped moisture until water pressure popped the faces off the bricks. The mortar is meant to be the sacrificial part of the wall, protecting the brick.

Our crew therefore picks the repointing mortar for the brick in front of them and never reaches for the hardest mix available. The mortar type used on your Lake Charm fireplace is named on your written record.

Restoring an old tile fireplace surround

Old tile surrounds crack, loosen and lose pieces over the years. The noncombustible face around the opening matters, because the code keeps combustible trim at least 6 inches from the opening. A missing tile can leave a gap in that face.

Our pros reset loose tiles on a sound bed, replace broken ones with the closest match we can source and regrout the surround. If an original tile is impossible to match, we tell you before the work and suggest where a substitute will show least on your Lake Charm fireplace.