Tuck Point and Parging
This is repair work to masonry damages in either the firebox or flue. We use many different grades of mortar, depending on the location of the damages. The mortar must be rated for a certain temperature, and applied at a certain thickness.
Tuck Pointing is grinding out the old mortar in-between the bricks in the fireplace. Some contractors will do this to an entire homes bricks when they are restoring a home. It is important to have your fireplace tuck-pointed, as it is a fire hazard to have any wide cracks or gaps, this close to a fire.
We grind out the old mortar, so that we can send the new mortar as deep into the crack as possible. We then fill the joints with refractory mortar. The new mortar is a different color, but after a few fires, it begins to blend in with the rest of the fireplace.
Parging is for wider/larger gaps. It must be mixed properly, and applied at a certain thickness.
The most common place that customers in this area need this work, is above the fireplace, right behind the fireplace facing. We often see that the gap/crack can be as far as 12-20’ deep. Heat rises, so if enough heat gets trapped in this gap, it is of concern. There is also holes and gaps commonly found in the shelf, smoke chamber, throat, and chimney. Also gaps like these and anywhere in the system, will affect the systems “draw”. Which is the systems ability to pull and terminate the smoke and heat from the fireplace. Smoke rolls up and along the walls of the system, the smoother the path the better.
We use mortar that is made specifically for this “cast” application. We desire a smooth and safe fireplace system for our customers. We don’t leave any gap or crack open for question.
There are occasions where a customers shelf is too deep, so we’ll opt to fill it with either mortar or quikrete. This is a very inexpensive fix, and fills any long deep holes in the floor of the shelf.
