Family-run firebox repair in Nassau Village-Ratliff
Your Nassau Village-Ratliff firebox repointed or rebricked to the Florida code, with the mortar's cure date on the ticket before we leave.
- Fully licensed and insured
- Locally owned
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service
Get Your Free Inspection
Get a quote for chimney and fireplace repair and installation in Jacksonville.
Request received
Thank you. We will call you shortly to set a time.
Quicker by phone? Call (904) 920-5495
Firebox specialists who test every brick in Nassau Village-Ratliff
- Locally owned in Jacksonville
- Family owned and operated
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed
- Free inspection and estimate
- Same-day service available
- 10% off any service
Firebrick joints are refilled with ASTM C199 medium-duty refractory mortar, the class the Florida code names.
- Free inspection and estimateEvery wall of the firebox in Nassau Village-Ratliff 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.
A firebox painted black
Some fireboxes have been painted, often to hide soot or stains. Paint on firebrick does not stop the lining from wearing, and it gets in the way of a repair, since fresh mortar does not bond well to a painted face.
Where joints or bricks need work, the paint is taken off the areas we repair, as one refractory mortar maker requires before its product goes on. The estimate says how much of the painted surface that involves and what the rest will look like afterward. Painted firebox with open joints in Nassau Village-Ratliff? Talk it through with us at (904) 920-5495.
Nassau Village-Ratliff does not reach the coast. Nassau Village-Ratliff lies within Nassau County.
Firebox work for Nassau Village-Ratliff fireplaces
- Open joints raked out and repointed in refractory mortar
- Cracked firebrick replaced to size, one brick at a time
- Painted fireboxes cleaned back where mortar must bond
- Water-marked fireboxes dried before work begins
From a cold firebox to the first fire in Nassau Village-Ratliff
-
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.
Wet ash and the firebox floor
Ash left in the firebox between seasons soaks up water that comes down the flue and holds it against the floor bricks, even in an inland town like Nassau Village-Ratliff.
We clear the ash, let the floor dry and repoint the joints once they are dry.
10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection
A firebox repair in Nassau Village-Ratliff booked the same day we inspect it is discounted too.
Tapping and probing, wall by wall
Our firebox inspection for repair is done cold. Each firebrick is tapped with a hammer handle, since a sound brick rings and a loose one sounds dull. Each joint is probed with a pick to see how deep the mortar has gone soft or missing, and joint widths are checked against the quarter-inch limit.
Everything found is marked on the brick in chalk and written on the estimate under its wall: back, left side, right side and floor. The repair then covers the bricks and joints that failed and leaves sound ones alone, and you can walk the chalk marks with us before any work is booked.
Which cracks can be left alone
Some cracks in firebrick are not repairs at all. A fine hairline across a brick that is full thickness, rings when tapped and sits flat with its neighbors is ordinary wear from heat, and filling it tends to leave a thin patch that falls out.
A crack that has opened wide enough to catch a probe, a brick that has shifted along a crack, or a piece that moves is different, and that brick is replaced. The estimate lists the cracks we are leaving to watch as well as the ones we fix, so you can check them later against the note and call if one changes.
The firebox floor and the hearth under it
Under the firebrick floor of the firebox is the hearth, which the Florida code requires to be at least 4 inches thick and built of concrete or masonry on noncombustible support. A floor brick that sinks or rocks may point to a bed that has eroded or a hearth that has cracked beneath it.
We lift the failed floor bricks, check the bed and the hearth below, and reset the floor flat in refractory mortar. Cracks in the hearth slab, or in the extension that runs out in front of the opening, are written up as hearth work, which has rules and a price of its own.
Walls, joints and cure time in writing
- Open joints raked to firm mortar and repointed in C199 refractory mortar
- Firebox depth measured before any relining is planned
- Cure time from the mortar maker's data written on the ticket
- Old patches and bag mortar removed from repaired joints
Firebox repair questions from Nassau Village-Ratliff
Will new firebrick match the old color?
Close, though not exact. Firebrick color varies by maker and batch, and the old lining has darkened with use, so new bricks look lighter at first. We tell you before ordering.
What if the damper or smoke chamber needs work too?
Those go on the estimate as separate lines with their own prices. You can do them with the firebox repair or schedule them later.
More services in Nassau Village-Ratliff
-
-
-
-
-
-
Learn more about firebox repairAll services in Nassau Village-Ratliff
Make your Nassau Village-Ratliff firebox safe to use again
Our firebox pros tap every brick in your Nassau Village-Ratliff fireplace and write the repair down. Call (904) 920-5495.
Free Inspection