Family-run firebox repair in Ponte Vedra Beach

Firebox rebuild or a single brick? Local experts in Ponte Vedra Beach tell you which after a free inspection, and we stand behind the work.

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

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(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Firebox specialists who test every brick in Ponte Vedra 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 Ponte Vedra 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.

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How a firebox estimate reads

Every firebox estimate we write lists the walls separately: back, left, right and floor. Under each wall are the joints to repoint, the bricks to replace and anything to reline, with the mortar named and the cure time given.

Items outside the firebox, such as the damper, the smoke chamber or the hearth in front, go on their own lines so you can decide on them separately. The pricing is upfront, and nothing is added once the work begins without your say. Want your own firebox estimate for the Ponte Vedra Beach house? Request one at (904) 920-5495.

TPC Sawgrass is in Ponte Vedra Beach. Ponte Vedra Beach lies within St. Johns County.

What firebox repair covers in Ponte Vedra Beach

Flaking brick faces measured against the code thickness
Firebox floor bricks lifted and reset flat
Cast refractory pieces assessed before any repair
Each wall of your Ponte Vedra Beach firebox priced on its own line

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From a cold firebox to the first fire in Ponte Vedra 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 Ponte Vedra 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 Ponte Vedra Beach dry before repair, since heat on wet masonry can crack it.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

A firebox repair in Ponte Vedra Beach booked the same day we inspect it is discounted too.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Reading the label on a tub of fireplace cement

Tubs of premixed fireplace cement are sold for firebrick repair, and their labels are worth a close look. One widely sold premixed refractory cement is rated to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and lists ASTM E136, a test of whether a material burns, rather than the C199 pier test. It is also made for joints of a quarter inch or less, with a sixteenth of an inch as its minimum.

A product like that has its place, but it is not automatically the medium-duty mortar R1001.5 calls for between firebricks. We compare each product's stated standard with the code before choosing it for a joint.

How big a mortar patch can be

Mortar is made for joints and shallow repairs, not for rebuilding missing masonry. One maker says its medium-duty refractory mortar cannot be used as a casting cement and that a patch should not exceed an inch in its smallest dimension.

When a brick has lost a deep piece of its face, filling the hole with mortar makes a patch much thicker than that, and it tends to crack loose along its edges. The lasting repair is a new firebrick cut to fit the opening. That is why the estimate lists replacement for deep damage even where most of the old brick is still in place and looks sound from the room.

Why a regular mortar patch fails

A patch of ordinary bag mortar in a firebox can look sound for a season and then crumble. Portland cement mortar is made for walls, not flame, and one refractory mortar maker puts the limit of regular mortars at around 600 degrees Fahrenheit, far below the heat a firebox face sees.

The fix is to remove every trace of the old patch from the joint, back to the brick edges, before the refractory mortar goes in. Leaving some of the patch behind puts a weak layer inside the new joint, and that layer fails first. The estimate notes where old patches were found so you know why those joints took longer.

Walls, joints and cure time in writing

Each firebox wall and the floor tapped, probed and marked in chalk
Old patches and bag mortar removed from repaired joints
Water marks traced to their source and listed separately
Smoke chamber, damper and hearth items kept on their own lines

Firebox repair questions from Ponte Vedra Beach

How long before we can use the fireplace after a firebox repair?

That depends on the mortar. One medium-duty refractory mortar needs at least 7 to 10 days before heat, and we write the exact date on the ticket. The first fire after that should be small.

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.