Our Process
The work behind restoring your Slavia fireplace
Restoring or replacing an old fireplace damper
A masonry fireplace needs a metal damper worked from the room and set at least 8 inches above the top of the opening (R1001.7.1). In an old fireplace the damper has often rusted, warped or seized, and the handle may be missing altogether.
Where the metal is sound, our pros clean, free and adjust the original damper so it opens fully and closes properly. Where it is not, they fit a replacement sized to the throat and still worked from the room. Either way, your restored Slavia fireplace gets a damper you can rely on.
Hearth extension size in a fireplace restoration
The hearth extension in front of the opening has minimum dimensions for good reason. Under R1001.10, a smaller opening needs 16 inches of extension out front and 8 to each side, and an opening of 6 square feet or more needs 20 and 12.
Some old fireplaces were built with a short extension, and some lost part of it to a flooring job. We measure yours and tell you where it stands. If your Slavia fireplace is to be used again, extending the hearth is part of the restoration plan, finished to suit the original.
Restoring a wood mantel at the right distance
An old wood mantel is often the part of the fireplace people love most. The code allows combustible mantels and trim on the fireplace front, but not within 6 inches of the opening, and closer than 12 inches, combustible pieces can project only 1/8 inch for every inch they sit from the opening (R1001.11).
Our specialists measure the mantel and trim on your Slavia fireplace against those limits before planning the restoration. A mantel that sits too close can often be reset higher on the same face, keeping the piece you want while making the fireplace fit for use.
What the brick can and cannot tell us about a fireplace
It is tempting to date an old fireplace by its look, but appearance alone is a poor guide. Brick, mortar and design details can come from the original build, a later repair or a remodel. We do not assign a history to your fireplace that we cannot support.
Records, drawings or old photographs of the room are worth sharing. They help our specialists judge what is original on your Slavia fireplace and what is not, and that shapes what the restoration tries to keep. What the restoration can promise is a fireplace that works properly and looks like itself.
