Fireplace Repair
Hearth repair done properly in Whites Landing
Hearth repairs carry our workmanship warranty and our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
When the existing extension falls short
Some hearths were built smaller than today's figures, and some were cut back when a floor was replaced. A short extension leaves flooring closer to the fire than the code intends for a masonry fireplace. It is easy to miss, because the hearth still looks finished and the floor still looks neat.
Repairing the surface and enlarging the extension are different jobs. We explain what enlarging would involve, how it would meet your floor and any approval an alteration of that kind needs, and we price it as its own option. You decide whether to do it now, with the repair, or plan it for later.
Trim and mantel around the opening
Hearth repairs often lead to a look at the trim around the fireplace. For masonry fireplaces, exposed combustible mantels and trim must sit 6 inches or more from the opening under the code, and within 12 inches of it, anything combustible may project only 1/8 inch for every inch of distance.
If new trim, a mantel or a surround is part of your plans, we measure against those figures before anything is fitted. Wood trim that has crept too close during an earlier remodel is noted in the inspection so you can decide how to deal with it. A mantel shelf higher up the wall is measured too, since its projection is limited by how far it sits above the opening.
Heat and the hearth slab
The hearth sits right in front of the fire, and it heats and cools every time the fireplace is used. Brick industry guidance notes that the reinforcement in a hearth slab also helps it resist the stresses that high temperatures put on it. The front of the firebox is often the hottest part of the hearth, and cracks there can have a different cause from cracks further out.
A hearth that cracks close to the opening, especially one built without that reinforcement or on a thin base, may be reacting to heat as well as load. We look at where the cracks sit relative to the firebox, and we plan the repair so the new work can take the same heat without the same failure.
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.
