Structural Repairs
FIREBOX REBUILD
Chimney fire bricks are made up of sand and a fireproof bonding component pressed together like a cinder block. When moisture enters the fire bricks, it can get trapped. When you light a fire, that moisture will heat up and turn to gas, causing a crack or damage to the fire bricks from small gas combustions. Another cause of this is a foundation shift over time, but this is less common than water damage.
The chimney firebox is the exhaust component on your chimney that contains the heat when you use your chimney. This is one of the most important aspects of the structure: if the firebox is not structurally sound, the bricks can cave in, and smoke can exit the structure.
By code, a chimney firebox needs to be 100% sealed in order to be used. Without proper structure repair, you are at risk for a house fire and other structural issues within the chimney, including a shift in its damper frame.
HEAT SHIELD
What is Heat Shield? A chimney liner repair system that eliminates the fire safety and draft issues caused by gaps, cracks, spalling, or fire damage in otherwise sound masonry chimneys.
Your chimney flue column is built out of flue tiles, placed every 12 inches, and connected by a mortar joint. If you’ve had water damage or no cap on your chimney in the past, water can enter the flue column and the mortar joints, causing shifting in your flue tiles.
Water damage and any foundation shifts over time will create a fire safety hazard within your chimney. The resurfacing system that we use to repair damage to the flue tile is done in several steps:
WATCH THIS VIDEO EXPLAINING HEAT SHIELD.
First, we need to attach a crane system that is braced to the top of your chimney crown, and a custom foam block applicator blade is then cut to your specific flue size.
Then, a pressurized machine loaded with fireproof mortar is attached to the crane, lowered into the chimney exhaust system, and raised as it slowly dispenses fireproof mortar onto the smoke chamber and flue column of your chimney. After the exhaust system has been coated with the mortar, the applicator blade is then attached to the system and is pulled through the exhaust system, smoothing out any of the mortar, giving you a completely sealed and smoothed system, improving the draft, and ensuring that your home and the chimney are fire safe.
CROWN REBUILD
What is a Chimney Crown? The concrete slab located at the top of your chimney.
When rebuilding a chimney crown, we replace the concrete crown with a new high-quality concrete steel rebar reinforced crown.
The benefit of pouring a new crown is that the duration of the crown is 30-40 years, and we put steel rebar in our crown, which helps prevent stress fractures that naturally occur when concrete dries and cures.
With a new crown, we also will replace the flue extensions on the chimney to ensure that everything is correctly installed and cohesive.
FLUE EXTENSION
The Flue Extension is the portion of the chimney that connects to the flue column that exits through the chimney crown. It acts as a neck for the flue column to ensure efficient airflow.
"Upon inspection, I noticed that your chimney does not have a flue extension. This can lead to a number of issues, like downward pressure. Because there is a level surface on top of the chimney, any kind of wind can cause downward pressure on the chimney, which causes the smoke to come back into the home.
Not having a flue extension can also lead to water intrusion into the flue column, which can cause costly water damage to the chimney's internal structure."
We can fix this issue by first cutting into the chimney concrete crown to expose the flue column. Then, we will lay a mortar joint and install the new flue extension into the concrete crown.
TUCKINGPOINTING
Chimney mortar retucking, commonly known as tuckpointing, is a process in which damaged mortar in between the bricks on the exterior of a chimney is ground out and replaced with fresh new mortar.
Masonry mortar typically lasts 30-40 years, or even less, without waterproofing. Water can enter the chimney if there are gaps between the brick and mortar. The water and moisture will be retained within those gaps, and thermal expansion will occur, causing larger gaps and destroying the mortar joints.
If moisture affects the space between the exhaust system and the brickwork, the chimney will be damaged structurally. If the white powder is present on the chimney or in the mortar joints (efflorescence), it will damage the bonding component within the cement bricks and mortar joints.
When this is present on the exterior of the chimney, it can cause the mortar joints and bricks to lose their strength, causing a safety hazard. All tuckpointing jobs include power wash, acid wash, and waterproofing.
WHY YOU NEED IT:
1. The exterior brickwork is what protects your chimney from the elements.
2. Tuckpointing is a more cost-effective way of fixing your chimney rather than rebuilding it.
3. Leaving your brickwork in BAD condition can cause a domino effect of destruction on your chimney.
PARTIAL AND FULL CHIMNEY REBUILD
A rebuild involves the demolition of the chimney structure, and then rebuilding the chimney including new brickwork, flu extensions, flashing, crown, and cap(s).
WHAT DOES A PARTIAL REBUILD INVOLVE? Demolishing the existing chimney from roofline up, and rebuilding it with new water repellent mortar, bricks, counterflashing, and a concrete crown. In some cases, this will involve rebuilding the flue column as well. The rebuild is completed by the Repair Team.
YOU'LL KNOW IT'S TIME FOR A PARTIAL REBUILD WHEN:
- The mortar in between the bricks is so sandy that you cannot do a tuckpointing job
- The bricks are in bad condition (coming loose, breaking off)
- The chimney has too many repairs needed (tuckpointing, crown rebuild, flashing, etc)
WHAT DOES A FULL REBUILD INVOLVE? Demolishing the existing chimney from the ground up and rebuilding it with new water repellent mortar, bricks, counterflashing, and a concrete crown. In some cases, this will involve rebuilding the flue column as well. The rebuild is completed by the Repair Team.