Local chimney masonry repair for Middleburg homes

Local masons match the repair mortar to your Middleburg stack at a free inspection, then fix what water has loosened.

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

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(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Brick and mortar specialists for Middleburg chimneys

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

When a brick has to go, it is cut out by hand so the ones around it stay sound.

Locally ownedA locally owned business answers for the brick and mortar work on your Middleburg chimney.
Upfront pricing, no hidden feesEach area of the stack is priced on its own line, so you can see what each repair costs.
100% satisfaction guaranteedIf the repair does not look or hold the way we agreed, we come back and make it right.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Mortar turning to sand

Scratch a joint with a key. Sound mortar resists and leaves a light mark; spent mortar crumbles and pours out as sand.

When the joints on your chimney in Middleburg fail that test, water has been working through them for a while, washing out the binder and leaving the sand behind. The fix is to rake the soft mortar back to solid material and refill the joint with a matched mix. How far the soft joints extend decides whether that is a patch on one face or the whole stack, and a simple sketch shows the extent. On the free masonry visit in Middleburg we trace the water path too; call (904) 920-5495.

Middleburg sits away from the coastline. Middleburg lies within Clay County.

Mortar, brick and the water behind them

Every damaged area mapped on the stack by type
Cured test batch checked against the old color
Spalled brick cut out and replaced unit by unit
New joints tooled to the old profile

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Map, match, rake, tool

Damage mapped by type
Soft joints, cracks, flaking faces and loose courses are marked on the stack, along with the water path behind them.
Mortar and brick matched
The mortar type is picked to suit the old wall, a test batch cures against the brick, and replacement units are sized to the coursing.
Rake, repoint and replace
Joints are raked to sound mortar and packed in layers, and damaged brick is cut out and reset.
Tooling, cleanup and cover
New joints are tooled to the old profile, smears come off without raw acid, and fresh work is covered from rain.

Soft mortar joints in Middleburg

Mortar is meant to be the weaker part of a wall, and over time rain wears it down to sand. Drag a key along a joint on your chimney in Middleburg; if sand runs out, the joint is spent.

Repointing rakes those joints back to sound mortar and refills them with a mix no harder than the wall.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

Masonry work booked within 72 hours of the free inspection takes the 10% off, like every other service.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Keeping the wall at its code thickness

Florida's residential code sets a minimum thickness for the walls of a masonry chimney: 4 inches nominal, built of solid units or of hollow units grouted solid. That minimum does not relax during a repair.

When a brick is cut out and replaced, the new unit fills the full depth of the old one, and the joints around it are packed full. Thin slips of brick glued to the face, or a pocket left half empty behind a new face, would thin the wall. We cut out and replace full units so the stack keeps its required thickness everywhere we have worked on it.

Repairs in the attic and the air gap to framing

Inside the attic and between floors, the code calls for an air space between the chimney masonry and any combustible framing, and that space may only be filled with fireblocking. Masonry repairs made from inside the attic, such as repointing an interior face, have to leave that gap clear. Mortar droppings, patching material and debris that fall into it are removed before we leave. If we find the gap already filled with insulation packed against the brick, or framing added too close, it is recorded as a clearance issue to correct, separate from the masonry work itself.

No raw muriatic acid on the finished wall

Mortar smeared on brick faces during repair has to come off, and what it comes off with can do more harm than the smear. The Brick Industry Association's stain note lists straight hydrochloric acid, the product sold as muriatic, and hydrofluoric acid among the causes of white silicate scum and of yellow or green vanadium stains on pale brick. Neither stain rinses away. So smears are brushed off with clean water while the mortar is still green, within the same working day. If a cleaner is needed after that, it is a product the brick maker's guidance allows, tried on a hidden spot first and rinsed off thoroughly.

Mortar type, brick source and joint depth

Map of each damaged area on the stack, with its size
Sand and color match, confirmed with a cured test batch
Number and location of brick units to cut out and replace
The point where repair gives way to a partial rebuild

Masonry questions from Middleburg

Can you repair only the damaged part of the chimney?

Yes, where the rest of the stack is sound. We repair the areas that have failed and close the water path that caused them. The estimate shows each area separately, which makes it clear what is included.

Can you repair a stone or stone veneer chimney?

Yes. Natural stone is laid and repointed differently from brick, and manufactured veneer has a water barrier behind it that has to keep working. We repair both, and we tell you which one your chimney has.