Problems We Fix

Smoke chamber repair in Whites Landing, step by step

Solid masonry around the chamber

Chamber walls, by the Florida Building Code, are solid masonry totaling at least 8 inches, or 6 inches when the inside is lined with 2 inches of firebrick or 5/8 inch of vitrified clay. Parging finishes those walls, it does not replace them. Where brick has crumbled or gone missing, the wall is rebuilt before any coat goes on.

Our family-owned team checks the masonry itself, not only the surface, during a free inspection in Whites Landing.

Trowel parging by hand

Where the chamber can be reached, parging is done by hand with a trowel, working the refractory mortar into every joint and over each corbel step until the wall is smooth. One maker offers a trowel-grade product for exactly that kind of accessible chamber. Hand work lets us feel for loose brick as we go.

It is careful work in a tight space, and our family-owned team takes the time it needs. The inspection in Whites Landing is free.

Sprayed parging for tight chambers

Some chambers are too narrow or too high to reach well with a trowel. For those, manufacturers make sprayable refractory material applied through the damper opening or from above. One such system offers a sprayed version alongside its trowel product for chambers that are not easily accessible. The prep, cleaning and repair of loose brick still come first.

You learn which method suits your chamber and why. Call (645) 465-4122 for a free smoke chamber inspection in Whites Landing.

Where the chamber meets the flue

At the top of the smoke chamber sits the first section of flue. The joint between the two can open over time, leaving a gap where heat and smoke escape into the masonry. We seal that joint as part of the chamber repair. If the flue itself is cracked or damaged higher up, flue repair is priced as a separate item.

Our smoke chamber pros explain where their work ends and what else they saw during the free inspection in Whites Landing.

Rain that reaches the chamber

With no cap on the flue, rain drops straight onto the smoke shelf and soaks the lower chamber, where it softens mortar and rusts the damper. Repairing the chamber without stopping the water leaves the new parging to fight the same problem. We check the top of the flue and list a cap, if one is needed, as its own item.

You decide the order of the work. Our family-owned team gives homeowners in Whites Landing both prices in writing.