Repair Crack in Fireplace
Q: The back wall of my fireplace has a rather large crack almost from the top to the bottom. When we had the chimney cleaned, we were told the problem could be taken care of by adding a firewall instead of replacing the back wall.
What can you tell me about firewalls? Is this a good solution?
A: Do you have a traditional masonry fireplace or a zero clearance (pre-fabricated) fireplace?
If you have a zero clearance fireplace, you should be able to just replace the firewall.
If you have a regular masonry fireplace, you could possibly add another layer of bricks or firewall material in front of the existing masonry, but that would reduce the size of the firebox and could cause drafting and smoke problems.
I advise you to have a licensed masonry contractor come take a look and recommend the best course of action after a visual inspection.
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-- Tips courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com