Whereas a hearth is a supply of magnificence and heat in chilly climate, the warmth generated from a hearth will take its toll on the fireside over time. The fireside inside the place the hearth happens is known as the firebox. It’s made up of firebricks and mortar, that are designed to face up to excessive warmth. Over time, the bricks and mortar can fail because of the growth and contraction of the supplies as they go from room temperature to roughly 700 levels Fahrenheit and again once more. Small gaps in mortar might be repaired with a particular high-temperature caulk known as refractory caulk. It comprises silica for warmth resistance and is particularly designed for fireplaces. This repair is a reasonably fast, simple, and cheap course of.
Warning
Refractory caulk, also called fire mortar, is appropriate for minor repairs solely. In case your fire has damaged or crumbling bricks, massive gaps within the mortar, or lacking mortar, have an expert mason or fire contractor examine it. Vital harm in a firebox generally is a critical hearth hazard and shouldn’t be repaired with refractory caulk.
What You may Want
Tools / Instruments
- Hearth brush and dustpan
- Store vacuum
- Linoleum knife or putty knife
- Caulking gun
Supplies
- Can of compressed air (non-obligatory)
- Refractory caulk
- Latex or nitrile gloves (non-obligatory)
- Paper towels
Directions
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Take away the Free Mortar
Take away the hearth grate from the fireside and use a hearth brush and dustpan to brush out the firebox. Vacuum the firebox flooring and partitions with a store vacuum to take away all residual ash and particles.
Subsequent, scrape out free mortar from between the hearth bricks utilizing a linoleum knife or putty knife. As you’re employed, examine the entire mortar joints to ensure they’re sound.
![Removing loose mortar from bricks]()
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Clear the Mortar Joints
Clear out the mortar joints by sucking out the particles with the store vacuum or blowing it out with a can of compressed air. Completely vacuum the partitions and flooring of the firebox once more.
![gaps in fire bricks being cleaned]()
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Fill the Joints With Caulk
Insert the caulk into the caulking gun and reduce the tip of the caulk tube as directed by the producer. Slowly pressure the caulk into the gaps, filling them as deeply as attainable. On vertical joints, working from the underside up may also help you visually affirm the diploma of joint penetration by the caulk. It may be best to caulk all vertical joints first, adopted by the horizontal joints.
![fire caulk being inserted in crevice]()
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Clean the Caulked Joints
Clean the caulk along with your finger to take away extra caulk and to seal the caulk to the sides of the brick. You may put on latex or nitrile gloves to maintain your arms clear if you want. It additionally is good to continuously wipe off the caulk out of your finger onto a dry paper towel as you’re employed. That manner, you will not by accident reapply the surplus caulk the place you do not need it.
![finger smoothing caulked grout joints]()
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Remedy the Caulk
Let the caulk dry as directed by the producer. Its mild grey coloration may seem in stark distinction with the black soot protecting the firebrick, however this can mix in as the fireside is used and the caulk darkens. Refractory caulk normally cures absolutely after publicity to fireside for one hour.
![brick fireplace]()
