Hearth repair in Gainesville for cracked tile and sunken slabs

Your hearth is the fireproof floor of the fireplace: the inner hearth under the fire, plus the extension reaching into the room to catch sparks and rolling embers. Cracked tile, loose stone or a slab that has sunk or pulled away weakens that guard. Family run and local, our pros repair or rebuild it on a sound base and to the size the code sets, once a free inspection has checked the base.

• Hearth tile repair set on a heat-safe bed
• Cracked hearth repair once the base is made sound
• Hearth extension repair sized to the code's dimensions
• Fireplace hearth replacement in brick, stone or tile
• Gaps between hearth and firebox closed with noncombustible material

1. Measure and sound the hearth

   Our pro measures the extension and taps the surface to find loose tile and hollow spots.

   01

2. Lift the damaged surface

   Cracked tile or loose stone comes up so the setting bed and base can be seen.

   02

3. Rebuild base, reset surface

   The base is repaired in noncombustible material, then tile, stone or brick is set in heat-rated mortar.

   03

4. Grout, clean and cure

   Joints get grouted and the surface cleaned, and you learn how long it cures before you light a fire.

   04

A hearth repair can be a few tiles or a new extension, and the base decides which.

Noncombustible base

Concrete or masonry reinforced to carry its own weight, with no wood forms left beneath it, per the code.

Tile, stone or brick surface

A finish chosen to match your room, set over the noncombustible extension.

Heat-rated thinset and grout

Setting materials whose makers rate them for hearth and fireplace use.

1. 01

   Surface material

   Tile resets quickly, while cut stone or matched brick takes more hand work.

2. 02

   Condition of the base

   A sunken or cracked base has to be rebuilt before any surface goes on.

3. 03

   Changing the size

   Enlarging an extension means cutting back flooring and building out the base.

4. 04

   Finding matching tile

   Discontinued tile may mean replacing the whole surface for a clean match.

• The inner hearth under the fire, checked for cracks
• The extension, measured in front of and beside the opening
• Tiles and stones tapped for hollow spots and loose setting
• The joint between hearth and firebox, checked for gaps
• Signs of settling in the floor below the hearth
• Flooring near the extension, checked for heat marks

• Hearth tiles cracked or popping loose

  Heat or a failing base has broken the tile's grip. We lift the loose tiles, check the bed and set them again.

• A gap between hearth and firebox

  The extension has settled or shrunk away, and embers can drop into the gap. We close it with noncombustible material.

• The hearth is sinking into the floor

  The support under it has given way. Our pros rebuild the base before the surface goes back down.

• The hearth seems small for the opening

  An extension shorter than the code asks leaves flooring exposed to sparks. We can enlarge it to size.

• Fireplace Repair and Service Fireplace faults fixed, from firebrick and dampers to hearths and smoke.
• Firebox Repair Worn firebrick and gaps in the brick box your fire burns in.
• Chimney Damper Repair and Replacement Dampers that stick, rust, warp or rattle, handles included.
• Prefab and Zero-Clearance Fireplace Repair Panels, metal fireboxes and chimney pipe on factory-built fireplaces.
• Fireplace Restoration Neglected fireplaces brought back to safe, working order and their original look.
• Electric Fireplace Repair Heating, flame and control faults on electric fireplaces and inserts.