How to Repair a Cracked Brick Fireplace

A fireplace that is made of brick looks great. However over time the bricks can become worn or damaged. The mortar can also decay over time. This is because of the high temperatures at the fireplace. The fireplace can be repaired by the homeowner with a little effort and time.

Items Needed:

• Mortar bag


• Heat-resistant mortar


• Regular Mortar


• Wire Brush


• Work gloves


• Hammer


• Chisel


• Trowel


• Bucket

Instructions:

1. Gather all of the materials needed for making the repairs to both the inside and outside of the fireplace.


2. Put gloves on before starting the repairs.


3. Mix up the batch of regular mortar first. This mortar is used only for the outside of the fireplace.


4. Smear the mortar onto the smaller cracks and then press it in with the trowel. Use the trowel to scrape any excess mortar from the fireplace joint. Put the extra mortar back into the bucket of wet mortar.


5. Brush out any crumbling mortar using a wire brush. Chip out any solid mortar that has large cracks. Use a hammer and chisel to do this. Carefully do this process because a fireplace usually only has a front layer of bricking and behind that layer may be fragile.


6. Dump some of the wet mortar into a mortar bag. Squeeze the front of the mortar bag into the empty joint so that wet mortar fills the joint.


7. Form the wet mortar to the same shape as the old cracked mortar was. The patterns need to match the other adjoining joints.


8. Make a batch of the heat-resistant mortar. Repeat the steps 4-7 except do this for the repairs needed inside the fireplace. Do not use regular mortar for the repairs for the inside of the fireplace. Only heat-resistant mortar should be used inside due to high heat.