Masonry Chimney Repairs That Need To Be Done Before Winter Weather And Using Your Fireplace

A brick or stone fireplace can be an attractive addition to your home, but it can also be vulnerable to wear and damage. Over the years, the wear to the chimney can affect your fireplace. These issues can cause water damage or affect the way the fireplace drafts and other hazards. The following masonry chimney repairs might be needed for your home before you start using your fireplace this winter:

Repairing Mortar

The mortar is one of the first areas where you want to repair damage to the chimney. With brick fireplaces and chimneys, the mortar can deteriorate over time and cause problems if it is not repaired. A professional chimney repair service can replace the damaged mortar joints to prevent further deterioration of your fireplace. If the damage to the mortar is severe, you might want to talk to them about replacing all the mortar joints of your fireplace.

Repairing Damaged Bricks

The extreme heat of fires in your fireplace can cause a lot of stress on the bricks that it was made out of. It can eventually cause them to break or crack, which can lead to issues with smoke leaking out of the firebox and problems with the fireplace not drafting correctly. A chimney repair service can repair the damaged bricks using techniques like tuckpointing, which uses mortar to restore the face of bricks. When these techniques are used for masonry chimneys, special techniques and materials are used to ensure the repairs can withstand heat and the elements.

Inspecting and Repairing Step Flashing

Brick and stone fireplaces have a special type of step flashing installed where the chimney meets the roof. This step flashing goes up the roof and looks like steps. It is bent metal and an asphalt sealant that is meant to keep water from getting into your home around the chimney. Over time, the asphalt dries out and needs to be replaced before the chimney starts to develop leaks. When you have the step flashing replaced, there are modern materials that can be used to replace the asphalt sealant to provide a better seal around the chimney and prevent future problems.

Inspecting the Chimney Flue and Smoke Shelf

The flue is the smokestack of the chimney that allows for gases to escape your fireplace. These are areas that need to be repaired when you have repairs done, so it is a good idea to know the different components of a masonry fireplace. Fireplaces have a firebox, a smoke shelf, and a flue with a cap on top. These are the components insider your chimney that needs to be inspected for damage. If the chimney flue has severe damage on the interior, a repair service can restore it and fix the damage to the exterior for you to be able to use your fireplace again.

Masonry chimney repairs need to be done before winter weather. If your chimney is old and in need of repairs, contact a masonry chimney repair service.