Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - fireplace repair

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Raven
08-05-03, 04:56 PM
My husband and I recently bought a house with a fireplace hidden behind a face of sheetrock. We tore off the sheetrock and discovered that the previous remodeler had torn off the front of the fireplace, leaving a firebox that is missing 2 fire bricks at the top (simple to fix, I assume) and a demolished appearance around the opening. We plan to do the new masonry ourselves. Do we need to do all the brick work with refractory mortar? The firebox looks a little shallow. Is there a minimum depth for this? The house was built in 1950--are there specific things we should look for or change due to the age? We don't plan to use the fireplace for heating--just for fun.

Doug Aleshire
08-05-03, 09:28 PM
Raven,

Based on what you mentioned, I think it would be a good idea to have professional do this. It is a requirement that permits be obtained to construct or modify fireplaces. The questions you ask does not make this a do-it-yourself project without some guidance on-site.

If need be, get some advice from a fireplace installer before trying to do anything. Have them come out and see what really needs to be done to make this safe as you don't know any history of it.

Good Luck!