Local fireplace repair in Lake Geneva

Your Lake Geneva fireplace checked free from the hearth to the damper, with each fault set next to its fix.

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

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Get Your Free Inspection

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

Quicker by phone? Call (904) 920-5495

Call our chimney crew

(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Fireplace specialists who fix the part that failed

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

Parts for older factory-built models can be hard to get, and we tell you early when that is the case.

Locally ownedA locally owned business shows you the failing part of your Lake Geneva fireplace before any price.
Upfront pricing, no hidden feesSafety repairs come first on the estimate, and items that can wait are priced on their own lines.
100% satisfaction guaranteedIf the fireplace still smokes or sticks after the repair we quoted for it, we come back.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Faults that put the fireplace out of use

Some faults can wait a season, and some mean no fire until the repair is done. Stop using the fireplace if you can see through a firebox joint to the masonry or framing behind it, if a firebrick has fallen out, if a refractory panel in a metal unit has broken through, or if the damper will not open. Those go at the top of the list for the Lake Geneva fireplace. Hairline cracks in firebrick, a sticky damper that still opens, or a loose hearth tile outside the fire area are recorded too, with a note that they can be scheduled. Fireplace acting up in Lake Geneva? Call (904) 920-5495 and tell us what you see.

Lake Geneva is in Clay County. The coastline lies beyond Lake Geneva.

What fireplace repair covers in Lake Geneva

Damper plate, pivot and handle worked and repaired
Light test for gaps around a closed damper
Rusted lintel over the opening checked for movement
Spark screen fitted to your Lake Geneva fireplace opening

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

How fireplace repair runs

Type and rating plate read
We settle whether the fireplace is masonry or factory-built and read the model where there is one.
Joints, damper and hearth checked
Joints are probed, the damper worked through its travel, and the hearth and trim measured.
Repair with the right materials
Refractory mortar and firebrick for masonry, the maker's parts for factory-built units.
Test fire and cleanup
Where smoke was the problem, a short test fire checks the fix, and the room is cleaned before we go.

Mantels and trim near the opening

Wood trim and mantels have to sit a set distance from the opening, and within that distance they may only stand out so far.

When we repair a fireplace in Lake Geneva, the trim is measured, and any piece too close is flagged.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

Fireplace repairs in Lake Geneva come 10% off whether the fix is small or large.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Why firebox joints are kept a quarter inch wide

The building code limits the joints between firebricks to a quarter inch, and the reason is practical. Refractory mortar holds up to heat, but it is still the softest part of the lining, and a wide joint gives heat and flame more of it to work on. When we repoint a firebox, the old mortar is raked out to sound depth, the joint is cleaned and dampened as the mortar maker directs, and new medium-duty refractory mortar is packed in and struck flush. Joints that were laid wide to begin with cannot be narrowed without relaying the brick, so we note where that applies.

Reading a crack in a refractory panel

Refractory panels in a factory-built fireplace are cast pieces held in a steel firebox, and fine surface cracking from heat is expected in them. The maker's manual draws the line, by crack width, by gaps opening between pieces, or by any piece that has loosened or fallen away.

Once a panel has broken through and the steel behind it is exposed to the fire, the unit should not be used until the panel is replaced. We measure what is there against the manual. Each panel is listed by its position and the maker's part number, and panels are replaced as a set when the manual calls for it.

Measuring a hearth extension against the code

The hearth extension is measured out from the fireplace opening. For a masonry fireplace with an opening under 6 square feet, it runs at least 16 inches in front and 8 inches past each side.

At 6 square feet or more, those figures become 20 and 12 inches. The opening is measured as width times height at the face, so a tall opening can cross the line even when it looks modest. Where an extension falls short, the fix is extending it with noncombustible material to size, and flooring that runs under the old edge may need to be cut back.

Tested in Lake Geneva before a fireplace repair is priced

Firebox joints raked and refilled with medium-duty refractory mortar
Refractory panels ordered by model number from the rating plate
Damper plate, pivot and handle freed, adjusted or replaced
Test fire with the damper open, and the smoke path noted

Before the firebox is opened up

Will you tell me if the fireplace is unsafe to use?

Yes, in writing. Faults such as an open firebox joint, a panel broken through to the steel or a damper that will not open go at the top of the estimate with a note to leave the fireplace unused until they are fixed.

Can a smoking fireplace be fixed without rebuilding it?

It can, once the cause is known. A test fire separates a damper problem, a cold flue, a house short of air and an opening too big for the flue, and each has a fix far smaller than a rebuild.