Fireplace - bricks cracked

[MoonRiver]

Need some advice. I have owned this house for a year. The bricks on the front of the fireplace (inside the house) are cracked. I had the house inspected when I bought it, and the inspector said it wasn't a problem.

First off, do you agree that it is safe?

If it is safe, how can I fix it (cheap). I was thinking about buying those half bricks they sell at home improvement stores and just refacing the fireplace. Or maybe I could just cover the bricks with something.

Description. Bottom part of fireplace has Buck stove. This part is OK. Area directly above stove is cracked. Then there is a mantel and the area above the mantle is OK.

[.netDude]

can you post a pic? go to photobucket.com if you don't have somewhere to host the photo.
Is there a liner in the chimney?

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

Are the cracked ones full size brick or brick veneer? Single crack in each one or multiple cracks?

RF

[MoonRiver]

Here's a couple of pictures.

[SteveD(TX)]

Your fireplace has "settled". It could be because of your home's foundation, by maybe because just your fireplace's foundation settled. It depends on how your home was built and what type of foundation you have. To have it fixed right, a brickmason should be hired. A skilled brickmason might be able to fix it without completely redoing the whole fireplace. But unfortunately unless you address the cause of the settling, it will probably just come back. And that won't be cheap.

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

I'm a stone mason as my specialty, but I lay brick and do tuckpointing also.

As mentioned by Steve above, it is a settlement crack.

The brickwork over the hearth should be supported by a steel lintel. The lintel may be bowed or sagging due to rotting or too thin of steel used. If there isn't a steel lintel, there should have been one.

Least expensive fix would be to cut out crack(s) with masonry grinder and tuckpoint it. If the brickwork has stopped settling, it won't crack again. Otherwise, you can cut it out with a masonry grinder and caulk the crack(s) with a good elastic rubber caulk...not silicone! The jist is the rubber caulk will stretch with the crack for awhile to come.

I have replace hundreds of failed lintels and it is time consuming and expensive. If brick are to be replaced, it is a tedious task to find ones that match the existing color.

BTW: Too hard of mortar is prone to crack more easily.

The issue as to safety would be if the cracks were letting fumes into the living area.

RF

[T-Bone 369]

I am also in the masonry buisness- have worked on more fireplaces than I wish to count. As pointed out this is a settlement crack. The brick that are cracked are not part of the fire box, they are a venneer on the outside and are only for looks. It looks from the pics like they have a pronounced sag in the center - I would bet dollars to dounuts that they used the top of the insert or the doors to support the brick. That is a light weight material not really suitable for holding up the work. Once the mortar set the face was ridged - think a pane of glass - and mostly self-suporting. At some point something caused the brick to crack - could have been something hitting the face or the house shifting or an earthquake. Now the venneer is no longer one peice - the pane of glass has a crack - and is no longer self supporting. The weight is transfered to the insert or the door frame which can not completly hold it up and voila it bows slightly down. In the pics it looks like the chimney itself is not cracked - that's good.

Is the fireplace safe? Probably so but from pics I would not want to make that call. Check inside the firebox on the front side. Use a flashlight and get your head in there to inspect it. It could be firebrick, look for signs of cracking. If the insert is metal look for bowing or warping. If you see signs of either it means the firebox it compromised - get a professional in to look at it. Even of you don't see any defects having it looked at is probably a good idea - fire is nothing to be toyed with. It's a little devious but you could have a mason come out to give you an estimate on fixing the work - if they are worth their salt they will check the inside of the firebox - ask them if it is damaged.

How would we fix this if you called us? First, We would take a good look at what the brick was laid on. The chimney itself is laid on a foundation - it's way too much weight not to be. However, it is not uncommon to see the hearth sitting on the floor of the room and the face of the fireplace laid on top of that. If that is the case, it may very well explain what caused the crack in the first place - there is a lot of movement in a floor system - but the masonry is ridgid and can not flex. If it looked like this was the case we probably would suggest tearing out the venneer and either re-laying it after beefing up the base, or replacing it with something lighter. If the base if solid, we would tear it down to the top of the opening, put in a peice of steel and re-lay. You could try to cover it up but frankly that only covers the problem and does not solve it.

Sorry to be so long winded - hope it was helpful.

T