We Can Help Your Wayne County Mi fireplace Construction & Service
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Our Michigan fireplace experts, can help you build or reface you fireplace. We have worked hard to earn a reputation for quality and look forward to showing Michigan it is well deserved. When it comes to Fireplace repair, and Fireplace construction proper technique is critical. Failure to build the firebox correctly and improper smoke shelf construction can lead to smoke not venting out of the chimney. This improper fireplace chimney venting can even cause smoke to vent into the house or fires not to burn properly. With Brick Repair LLC you can safely rest knowing your fireplace will not only be danger free but it will be beautiful.
Warmth and ambiance
Even as recently as the early 1980s, residential fireplaces were much less common in Oakland County Mi than they are today. Before then, the vast majority of serious wood-burning, particularly for heat, was done with basement wood furnaces or simple black cast-iron or plate steel wood stoves. Now, the wood-burning situation has changed. Most new home wood-burning appliances are efficient wood stoves and advanced fireplaces which are often able to provide much or all of the heat for a home while at the same time offering the beauty and atmosphere of a visible fire. If you have an interest in a Wood Burning stove we can find a Michigan fireplace expert for you Contact Us
If you are in need of a Michigan fireplace chimney insert we can provide you with a reputable Michigan fireplace insert expert
When most people think of chimneys, they think of fireplaces. Memories of cold winter evenings, relaxed and cozy in front of a crackling fire are hard to beat, and the ability of an open fire to soothe the wild beast within us all is legendary. Since the dawn of time, humans have gathered around the open fire for a sense of safety and community, and the fireplace is still the focus of family living in many homes, especially around the holidays.
But in spite of all the glowing aesthetics, there are some practical considerations. When you're dealing with an element as capricious and potentially dangerous as fire, knowledge really is power, so please read on to learn how to make your fireplace both safer and more enjoyable.
Fireplaces come in two general types, masonry fireplaces built entirely of bricks, blocks or stone and mortar, and factory built fireplaces consisting of a lightweight metal firebox and a metal chimney. (There are a few hybrids too, the most common being a heavy metal firebox and smoke chamber coupled to a regular brick chimney). To figure out which you have will take only a moment of detective work on your part.
A masonry fireplace has a firebox built of individual generally yellowish firebrick, a brick chimney above the roof, and if you look up past the damper you will see a roughly pyramid shaped affair also built of brick. A prefab fireplace generally has a firebox of cast refractory panels, and usually some metal is visible in the room all around the firebox. If you look up past the damper you will see a round metal chimney. And above the roof is more round metal chimney, sometimes surrounded by a simulated brick housing.
Although basically similar, there are some important differences. We have provided areas with some special considerations for masonry or prefabricated fireplaces that you can jump directly to by clicking the appropriate name.
MASONRY FIREPLACES - Some Special Considerations
Masonry fireplaces, built entirely of bricks, blocks or stone and mortar, are massive structures often weighing between 6 and 7 tons! They are aesthetically pleasing, long lasting, and add real value to your home. With a little care and periodic maintenance they can literally give you a lifetime of enjoyment.
Masonry fireplaces require an extensive footing capable of supporting their great bulk, and if not provided with one will often shift and crack, allowing the fire to escape to nearby combustibles. You should always keep an eye out for any signs of settling or movement. Just inside the firebox, where the facing material meets the firebrick, is one weak spot where this settling is often first apparent. Keeping downspouts directed away from the fireplace and careful sloping of the ground around the fireplace to be sure water runs away from the structure can keep settling problems to a minimum.
Although masonry is quite durable, and in fact is often seen as indestructible, this is certainly not the case, especially for a chimney. While the rest of the brick on the house is somewhat protected by the eave, the poor chimney is sticking up like a flagpole, exposed to every raindrop and freeze/thaw cycle. A quality chimney cover, keeping the crown in good repair, and a waterproofing treatment, are money well spent to avoid expensive repairs or rebuilding. See the section on waterproofing for a more detailed explanation.
The firebox of course takes the brunt of the fire's heat and it requires some special attention. The firebrick can take the heat pretty well, but the joints will fail in time from the constant expansion and contraction. In addition, refractory mortar is specified and seldom used. In a fireplace without a chimney cover, the rain water will also pool on the smoke shelf, mix with the soot behind the damper, and form an acidic slurry that seeps into the fire back destroying the mortar joints. These joints must be kept in good repair with a high temperature refractory mortar to ensure the fire is contained.
The tile liners used in most masonry fireplaces are just fine as long as the fireplace is properly maintained and not exposed to chimney fires. One good chimney fire will usually crack these tiles, rendering them incapable of performing their intended function. The general rule of thumb is that a masonry fireplace should be cleaned before 1/4" of soot accumulates. If you ever do experience a chimney fire, it is very important to have the chimney swept and inspected before it is used again. We suggest a side trip to the areas on Chimney Fires and Liners for further information.
Unlike prefabricated fireplaces which are factory engineered products, a masonry fireplace is built on site brick by brick, giving the mason ultimate control of the final product. This results in a wide range of masonry fireplaces available, from long lasting, heat producing beauties, to smoky pits that crumble in a relatively short time. Most masonry fireplaces that chimney sweeps encounter, although far from perfect, can, with a little tender loving care, and carefully considered maintenance procedures, provide you with many peaceful, relaxing hours in an otherwise often hectic world.