Local firebox repair for Jacksonville Beach homes

Firebrick replaced to size and joints kept at a quarter inch or less, on Jacksonville Beach fireboxes inspected free of charge.

Fully licensed and insured
Locally owned
Family owned and operated
Same-day service

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Get a quote for chimney and fireplace repair and installation in Jacksonville.

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(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Firebox specialists who test every brick in Jacksonville Beach

Locally owned in Jacksonville
Family owned and operated
100% satisfaction guaranteed
Free inspection and estimate
Same-day service available
10% off any service

Sound bricks stay in place, and only the ones that failed are cut out and replaced.

Free inspection and estimateEvery wall of the firebox in Jacksonville Beach is tapped and probed cold, and the failed bricks and joints are marked at no charge.
Upfront pricing, no hidden feesEach wall is quoted for what it needs, a few joints, a few bricks or a full reline, so a small repair stays small.
100% satisfaction guaranteedIf a joint we repointed opens again after it has cured and been used as the ticket says, we come back and redo it.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

One brick with a crack across it

A single firebrick with a crack running across its face raises a fair question: replace it, or leave it? The answer depends on whether the brick is still full thickness, still tight in its joints and still flat with its neighbors. A hairline in a sound brick is written down as something to watch rather than a repair.

A crack that has opened, rocks under a tap or lets a piece shift gets that one brick cut out and replaced in refractory mortar, and nothing around it is disturbed. Wondering about one cracked brick in your Jacksonville Beach firebox? Our number is (904) 920-5495.

Jacksonville Beach sits on the coastline. The county for Jacksonville Beach is Duval County.

Joints, firebrick, walls and floor

Bowed walls checked against the masonry behind them
Painted fireboxes cleaned back where mortar must bond
Water-marked fireboxes dried before work begins
A written cure date for your Jacksonville Beach fireplace

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From a cold firebox to the first fire in Jacksonville Beach

Keep the firebox cold
Let the fireplace go unused for several hours ahead of our visit, so each wall is cool to the touch.
Tap, probe and mark
Each brick is sounded, each joint probed, and the failed ones marked and written up by wall.
Rake, rebrick or reline
Joints are raked and repointed, failed bricks replaced and worn walls relined in C199 mortar.
Cure date on the ticket
The mortar maker's drying time sets the date of the first small fire, written down before we leave.

Storm season and a coastal firebox in Jacksonville Beach

Between June 1 and November 30, the Atlantic hurricane season can drive rain down a flue that is open at the top. On the coast, water marks on the firebox floor after a storm are worth a call before a fire.

We let a wet firebox in Jacksonville Beach dry before repair, since heat on wet masonry can crack it.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

Book firebox repointing or rebricking in Jacksonville Beach within 72 hours of the inspection and 10% comes off.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Hydraulic and air-setting refractory mortars

Refractory mortars do not all harden the same way. A hydraulic refractory mortar sets and cures much like a portland cement mortar and, according to one maker, becomes water insoluble once cured. Premixed air-setting products harden as they dry, and some finish curing only when heat is applied.

Neither type is wrong in itself, but each follows its own data sheet for joint size, mixing, drying and first heat, and the two are not mixed in one joint. We choose by the joint width and the kind of repair, and the product name goes on the ticket so the next person to work on the firebox knows what is in the wall.

Mixing refractory mortar for a repair

Hydraulic refractory mortar is mixed with clean water only. One maker says no bonding agent is needed, that high-speed mixing should be avoided because it traps air, and that mortar which has stiffened is thrown out instead of being loosened with more water.

The same maker gives a working time of about an hour, shorter in warm weather, and suggests cold water on hot days to slow the set. On a firebox repair that means small batches mixed as the joints are ready, rather than one large batch that goes stiff halfway along the back wall and tempts someone to add water.

The throat above the opening

Above the firebox, smoke passes through a slot called the throat into the smoke chamber. The Florida code places the throat at least 8 inches above the fireplace opening, calls for it to be at least 4 inches deep, and does not allow the passage above the firebox to be smaller than the flue.

A firebox repair seldom reaches the throat, but a rebuild of the upper back wall does. We measure the throat before any brick comes out of that area and rebuild to the same or better dimensions, so the repair does not create a smoke problem that was not there before. The measurements go on the ticket.

Walls, joints and cure time in writing

Worn walls relined, with the firebrick thickness stated
Joint widths checked against the quarter-inch limit in R1001.5
Cure time from the mortar maker's data written on the ticket
Hairline cracks left in place and noted for later checks

Firebox repair questions from Jacksonville Beach

Why not fill the cracks and paint over them?

Paint does nothing for the lining and keeps new mortar from bonding. Open joints need raking and refilling, and cracked bricks need replacing, so the repair lasts.

Should I stop using the fireplace until the repair?

If bricks are loose, joints are open deep into the wall or the back wall bows, yes. Hairline cracks in sound brick can wait for the visit, and we tell you which you have. Call (904) 920-5495 to book a free inspection in Jacksonville Beach.