Our Process
The details behind fixing your Wekiwa Springs fireplace
Smoke chamber repair above the fireplace damper
Between the damper and the flue sits the smoke chamber, which narrows the smoke from the wide firebox into the flue. The code calls for its walls to be solid masonry with the inside surface parged smooth using refractory mortar that meets ASTM C199 (R1001.8). Rough, stepped brick or parging that has fallen away slows the smoke on its way up.
You cannot see the smoke chamber from the room, which is why flakes of mortar on the damper or in the firebox are worth mentioning when you call. Our specialists inspect it during the free visit to your Wekiwa Springs home, and where the surface has failed they parge it with refractory mortar and list that repair on its own line.
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.
Identifying a factory-built fireplace before repair
Not every fireplace with a brick face is masonry. A factory-built fireplace is a metal unit tested and listed to UL 127, which the Florida Building Code says must be installed under the conditions of that listing (R1004.1). Its rating plate names the maker and the model.
The model decides which firebox panels, grates, doors and chimney parts are allowed. Please do not take the unit apart to find the plate. Our specialists locate it during the free inspection and plan the Wekiwa Springs repair from the maker's manual for that exact fireplace.
Cleaning soot stains off the fireplace face
Black streaks above the opening usually mean smoke has been escaping into the room, so the stain is a symptom first and a cleaning job second. The Brick Industry Association's cleaning guidance says scrubbing with scouring powder and a stiff bristle brush is often effective on smoke stains, and it recommends a trial on an inconspicuous area first.
We find out why the fireplace spilled smoke before cleaning the face, then clean the brick or stone with the gentlest method that works. The same guidance warns against unbuffered muriatic acid and excessive water pressure on brick. You see a test patch on your Wekiwa Springs fireplace before the whole face is done.
