Smoke chamber repair for fireplaces in The Hammocks
Your hearth and floor stay covered, mortar is mixed outside, and debris leaves with us at the end.
- Owned and run locally
- Available for same-day service
- Fully licensed and insured
- Family owned and run
Chamber symptoms worth mentioning when you call
- A fire that is slow to draw
- Debris piled on the smoke shelf
- A hole where a brick has fallen
- Sagging brick above the fireplace opening
Jump to
The chamber work above your damper
Smoothing flat faces and rounding corners
Once the refractory mortar is in place, flat faces are smoothed with a trowel and inside corners are rounded. One chamber repair system describes rounding those corners with a smooth, straight-sided tool.
Overworking the material can break its grip on the brick, so the finish is deliberate rather than polished. Any ridge left at the flue joint is smoothed before the material sets. We describe the finished surface you can expect. If you would like to see it, we can show you with a light from the firebox before we leave.
The chamber carries the first flue tile
The sloping walls at the top of the chamber support the lowest clay tile of the flue. Guidance on fireplace design says flue tiles should be supported on all sides. If the chamber top is cracked or eroded, that support weakens.
We look at how the lowest tile sits on the chamber and whether gaps have opened around it. Closing those gaps is part of chamber repair. If the tile itself is damaged, it becomes a flue repair item, listed on its own.
A small conditioning fire after curing
After the initial air cure, one chamber coating maker calls for a small conditioning fire before normal use. The aim is to drive out remaining moisture gently. Larger fires too soon can turn trapped moisture into steam.
We give you the conditioning steps for the product used. Keep early fires small for the period the instructions describe. If anything looks wrong during those fires, stop and tell us before continuing. The written record repeats these steps, so they are at hand when you light that small fire.
Building the chamber coating up in layers
Chamber mortar is not brushed on like paint. One system is applied in layers, placed firmly against the prepared surface by hand or trowel so it grips the masonry. Thicker areas are built up gradually to fill steps and hollows.
Layering lets the coating reach an even slope without sagging. It also means a stepped chamber can take far more material than one with a smooth original surface. We explain where the coating will be thickest and why, and the estimate reflects the amount of material your chamber needs.
What the chamber estimate lists in The Hammocks
- Soot and glazed deposit removal
- Coating built up in layers
- Droppings cleared before they set
- Debris cleaned up and hauled away
Common questions about chamber parging
What should I tell you when I call about the smoke chamber?
Mention any fallen mortar or brick, changes in how the fire draws, staining above the opening and when the chimney was last swept. Earlier notes about the chamber help too. Keep the fireplace cold and unused until we have looked.
Is a chamber with no smoke shelf built wrongly?
Not necessarily. Some designs, such as Rumford fireplaces, rise straight from the firebox to the flue without a shelf. Masonry guidance describes that as a streamlined arrangement. We repair the chamber you have and do not add parts it was not built with.
How do you protect the room during chamber repair in The Hammocks?
The hearth, surround and nearby floor are covered before work starts, and mortar is mixed outside. Droppings are cleared as we go. When the job ends, debris is hauled away and the firebox is left ready for curing.
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Local service. Careful repairs. A fireplace worth coming home to.
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Chimney & Fireplace Brands We Work With
DuraVent 
Olympia Chimney and Venting 
Copperfield Chimney Supply 
Rutland 
Heatilator 
Heat & Glo