Family-run firebox repair in Springfield
Firebrick replaced to size and joints kept at a quarter inch or less, on Springfield fireboxes inspected free of charge.
- 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
Local firebox pros who price wall by wall
- Locally owned in Jacksonville
- Family owned and operated
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed
- Free inspection and estimate
- Same-day service available
- 10% off any service
Cracks left in place are written down too, so you can watch them against our note.
- Free inspection and estimateEvery wall of the firebox in Springfield 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 patch that keeps falling out
Gray patches in a firebox tend to come back out within a season or two. Ordinary bag mortar and many repair pastes are not made for the heat at the face of a firebox, so they crack along their edges and drop onto the floor after a few fires.
A lasting repair rakes the old patch and the failed mortar out to sound material and refills the joint with a refractory mortar meeting ASTM C199, the class the Florida code names for firebrick. We check the label on everything we use. Patches failing in the Springfield firebox? Ring (904) 920-5495.
Springfield lies within Duval County. Springfield does not reach the coast.
Joints, firebrick, walls and floor
- Flaking brick faces measured against the code thickness
- Failed patches removed and the joints redone
- Painted fireboxes cleaned back where mortar must bond
- Each wall of your Springfield firebox priced on its own line
From a cold firebox to the first fire in Springfield
-
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.
Settled houses and firebox cracks in Springfield
A crack that runs through several firebricks and their joints in a straight line points to movement, not only heat. Inland or coastal, that kind of crack gets the backing masonry checked.
On a visit in Springfield we follow such a crack to see whether it continues into the walls around the fireplace.
10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection
A firebox repair in Springfield booked the same day we inspect it is discounted too.
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.
Replacing a single firebrick
Replacing one firebrick starts with cutting the joints around it without disturbing its neighbors. The old brick comes out in pieces if it must, the opening is cleaned back to sound mortar and the dust is cleared out.
The new firebrick is cut to size and set in a full bed of medium-duty refractory mortar on every side, with joints no wider than the code allows and its face flush with the wall around it. A neighbor that loosens during the work is reset in the same visit and added to the ticket, so no brick is left rocking beside a new one.
New firebrick, not salvaged brick
Old brick from a demolition can look like a bargain for a firebox repair. The Brick Industry Association advises against salvaged brick in fireplace construction because it may lack the strength and durability needed.
In a firebox there is a second question: what the old brick actually is. Salvaged units are often face or common brick rather than firebrick meeting ASTM C27 or C1261, and they carry old mortar that new mortar bonds to poorly. We use new firebrick and match the size and color as closely as supply allows, with any visible difference noted on the estimate before the order.
Walls, joints and cure time in writing
- Firebox depth measured before any relining is planned
- Cure time from the mortar maker's data written on the ticket
- Paint cleaned off wherever new mortar has to bond
- Damper frame supported and reset when the back wall is rebuilt
Firebox repair questions from Springfield
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.
Is the inspection really free?
Yes. The firebox check and the written estimate cost nothing, and the pricing is upfront with no hidden fees. Book the repair within 72 hours of the check and 10% comes off.
More services in Springfield
-
-
-
-
-
-
Make your Springfield firebox safe to use again
Loose brick or open joints in Springfield? The firebox inspection is free.
Free Inspection