How To Repair Fireplace Crack In Brick

Y'all recently move into a home that has a gorgeous old fireplace. As the cold atmospheric condition approaches, y'all are anxious to first up that warm, cozy glow... simply there is a problem. At that place is a hole in your fireplace. A fireplace is the heart of a habitation. While you may feel y'all need to supplant it or eliminate a damaged fireplace, y'all might only need to patch the hole or install a fireplace liner, also known as a fireplace insert.

We as well recommend you familiarize yourself with the layout and working club of a woods-called-for fireplace. "If improperly installed, operated, or maintained, woods-burning fireplaces are potential sources of house fires. " - DIY Network.

WHAT You NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PATCHING A Pigsty IN YOUR FIREPLACE

Your commencement pick for repairing a hole in your fireplace is to patch it. Y'all can rent a professional to do this, or if you are game, you lot tin can practice it yourself with a piffling guidance. In that location are a few things to consider before y'all start.

Consider the Scope of Work | It's crucial to consider how large a repair your fireplace needs. A modest hole, or damage in the mortar, is a straightforward job. Any considerably sized hole may exist too unstable to patch yourself. In this case, yous may choose to install a fireplace liner to comply with condom and environmental standards.

Make Sure You Take the Correct Tools | Before tackling your fireplace project, consider which materials you lot programme to use. Ensure that you have the right materials in terms of mortar, trowels and brick.

Mortar - While mortar is a petty trickier, is by far the best and nearly permanent fix for your brick holes. It is, after all, the original fabric used to build your fireplace. If, even so, you are a little nervous, you can opt for an acrylic mortar that will exercise a fine chore as well. For the detailed rundown on which product amend suits your needs, consider this how-to guide from DIYHomeOwnerHero.
Trowels - As with any project, the correct tool is equally essential as the method. Bob Vila suggests, "Choice up some mortar on a large trowel then, using a pointing trowel, work smaller amounts into the horizontal and vertical gaps betwixt the bricks. You might observe it easier to fill the vertical joints with a tool known as a margin trowel. Use the flat edge of the trowel to even out your work and scrape off whatsoever mortar you get on the face of the bricks."
Brick - Be sure of your bricks! If you lot are replacing bricks within the firebox, you lot will demand specialized bricks that withstand the rut. "Unlike regular brick, which is ordinarily made of clay, firebrick is made of refractory ceramic materials. The chemical composition of these materials (which is effectually 23% alumina and 73% silica, with the remaining 4% existence ferric oxide, titanium, and other metallic oxides) ways that firebricks can withstand loftier temperatures – up to i,700°F – whereas standard bricks begin to degrade at 1,200°F." -

PREPARING TO PATCH THE HOLE IN YOUR FIREPLACE

Remove the old brick and mortar. "If the brick is not needed or past being of any use through harm, the best and easiest method is to drill it total of holes and and then knock it out with a hammer and eternalize." - DIY Md.
Match and cut your new bricks. Y'all can use any bricks to repair your fireplace if yous are on a budget or if the repair surface area is out of initial sight. However, if y'all plan on doing a loftier-quality repair, "Sometimes a single blazon of brick will non give you the full range of colors needed to match the original wall. In this situation, try blending two or more types of brick that work together to give yous the range you need."
Match and mix your mortar. Fireplace mortar is slightly different in consistency than regular mortar." Since the mortar will be exposed to estrus you can't use standard mortar. The estrus will cause information technology to scissure and crumble. You lot can purchase refractory mortar at about edifice supply stores and fireplace shops. It tin can also exist purchased on line." - doityourself.com.
Lay your brick. Apply a layer of mortar of 1/16 to 1/viii of an inch thick with a trowel to each brick before you lay information technology. Use your manus to polish the mortar between the bricks if necessary.

You may non experience confident plenty to fix your fireplace hole yourself, and you may not want to pay someone to do it, masonry workers are few and far between and often expensive. Even with the best patch job, you may not become the permanent and efficient results you desire. Consider the easiest solution to fixing holes in your brick fireplace.

WHAT You lot NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INSTALLING A LINER IN YOUR FIREPLACE

Cost - Installing an insert or liner for your fireplace is ane of the simplest and safest ways to gear up your fireplace. A liner for a wood-burning fireplace will range from $2000 to $4000, with installation fees running you lot $750 to $1500 depending on the chore. While installing a liner may be more expensive than a DIY fix, there are excellent reasons for choosing a liner.
Benefits - There are substantial benefits to choosing a fireplace liner. A quality fireplace liner "...offers a perfect balance between the efficiency of wood stoves and the beauty of rock or brick facades that are and then typical of older fireplaces. Your home will be more free energy-efficient and pollute less." - WeLoveFire.com. You become the called-for wood you dearest, efficient heating and support environmental initiatives for upwards of 30 years.
Maintenance - Maintaining your liner requires the same optimal considerations of an original brick fireplace. You volition desire to clean it regularly and obtain a yearly inspection and sweep to go on your fireplace efficient and prophylactic. So really, at that place are no downsides.
The Type of Forest you Burn - You may be wondering if fireplace liners, crave a specific type of wood. The reply is no. "Every bit with nearly appliances, hardwood is preferable. Beech, oak, ruddy-wood, birch and maple copse are skillful examples." - WeLoveFire.com.

The choice is yours. You may want to endeavor the DIY approach, simply you may decide that this twelvemonth is the year to invest in optimizing your heat source for efficiency and safety.

It tin can exist challenging to find a reputable and knowledgeable dealer for fireplace liners. We Honey Fire is a network of over 290 privately owned fireplace and hearth stores throughout Due north America. Each ane is dedicated and passionate about matching quality oestrus sources with your family's unique comfort and style preferences. We are waiting for y'all to permit the states know how we can help.