There is a situation that develops with some older chimneys that becomes obvious when a fireplace structure that is built on an outside wall of a home appears to be leaning or pulling away from the house.

The main cause of this is the settling of the foundation of the fireplace structure itself.

The foundation of a typical house is placed on native, undisturbed soil.  Then, once the home is build, the area around the home is back-filled, creating an area surrounding the house of disturbed soil.   This can cause settling of anything built on top of the disturbed soil.

The fireplace foundation is actually a separate unit from the foundation of the house, while the hearth and firebox are constructed over the foundation of the house.  Therefore, when the foundation of the chimney settles, the fireplace structure “hangs up” on the house foundation, resulting in the leaning or pulling away.

The solution for this issue is to dig down to the undisturbed, native soil and place your chimney foundation on that soil, and rebuild your fireplace structure from there.

Here’s a series of sketches which demonstrate the process.

We at Best Way Masonry have helped many homeowners all around Portland with this issue.  Contact us if you have any questions about your chimney.

Fireplaces require a lot of air to facilitate the combustion process.  Often when a fireplace is not drawing adequately, it is because it is starving for air.  This is particularly common in homes which have been “weatherized” or recently built because the house is really air-tight, therefore it doesn’t allow air to easily flow into the home.

Often the simplest handling is to install an air vent into the firebox.  This is simplest to do when the fireplace structure is on an outside wall of the house.  This allows free flow of outside cold air in for combustion.  It also has the added benefit of not sucking warm, heated air out of the home, thus increasing the efficiency of the fireplace.

A common masonry repair is called “tuckpointing”, “repointing”, or just “pointing”.  Below is a thorough description of how this repair is performed – and why it’s important to get it done right.

A thoroughly done tuckpoint consists of grinding out existing mortar approximately 1”, flushing out all joints, replacing the mortar with the proper grout mix.  Proper preparation is crucial to well-done tuckpointing work.  Like painting, two jobs may look the same, but one will have paint falling off in a couple of years.  It is the same concept with tuckpointing.  If the preparation is not thoroughly done, the grouting prematurely fails and comes out.

The grinding step has to be done in such a manner as to grind out the joint thoroughly 1” deep while ensuring the old mortar is gotten off the surface of the joint of the adjacent brick and being careful not to harm the brick. This makes it so the newly applied grout has a good base to adhere to. Then, each joint is thoroughly cleaned out before grouting.

The grout also needs to be the correct hardness. A masonry structure composed of brick and mortar has two different components at different hardnesses.  The mortar needs to be able to allow the brick to expand and contract.  Mortar that is too hard starts breaking out after a few seasons.  Also, there are techniques in coloring, shading, etc., that can be used. Therefore it’s important to have a mason who is knowledgeable on mortar types and mixing.  We also use an ad mixture, with a bonding agent, to help with the proper setting and adhesion of the mortar.

In addition, proper finishing of each joint (called striking) is important for proper weather resistance and aesthetic purposes.  There are many different ways to go about striking a joint.  Your mason needs to take these into consideration when looking at your particular structure.

Cleaning of the work and site is the final aspect of the job properly done.

A very simple way to improve the longevity of your brickwork – and improve its looks – is to get the brick cleaned with a masonry detergent and sealed with a high quality masonry sealer.

Cleaning is a process done for two reasons, the first is to get scum and particulate matter off the face of the brick so that the sealer will penetrate better, thereby performing better, and the second is to improve the appearance of the brick.  It is done by using high-quality masonry detergent and by proper hand-scrubbing and low pressure water rinsing.  Sometimes the results of cleaning can be quite dramatic, but it cannot be warranted to remove all stains.

Masonry sealers provide important protection of masonry walls particularly here in the Pacific Northwest.  Here water penetrates mortar and then dries out quite a bit, and this breaks down the mortar much more rapidly than in drier climates.  Also, the building of walls today is done on the basis that water will migrate through the masonry.  There is a space provided behind the wall and proper membranes and flashing which direct a path for moisture to travel out, not into the structure.  Older buildings are not constructed this way, so water that does migrate in can cause internal damage, e.g. dry rot, mold, etc., that is not evident for long periods of time.

The sealers developed today inhibit water from penetrating the wall, but also allow water vapor to not be trapped in the wall – which basically allows the wall to breathe.  This is very important.  The sealer is very much like gortex.

Sealers have a type of particulate that reacts with the different PHs of the mortar and brick.  These particles clog up the pores of masonry.  Sealers are rated by their percentage of particles per unit and also the type of particles.

We use a product that we believe is the best available.  It is rated at 30% as compared to typical 15% that is frequently used.  This results in better protection for a much longer time.

For more information about masonry cleaning and sealing, you can give us a call or email us.  We’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.

Do you worry about the coming chilly weather?  Here are some homecare tips:

- It’s the time of year to prepare for rain, so make sure to clean your gutters.

- Trim your trees back.  While this generally promotes health for most trees, it also protects your roof, windows and chimney from the potential of falling branches and limbs.

- Move anything which will be damaged by water indoors.

- If you experienced any leaks last time it rained heavily, get these looked at.  It might be a roof issue, a chimney problem or even just a piece of loose flashing.

- Make sure your smoke detectors are in working order.  If you have a cozy fireplace, you’ll want to make sure you’re going to be able enjoy it worry free.

- Reverse your ceiling fan, so you are pushing the warm air down.

- Make sure your pipes are insulated.

Here’s to a safe and comfortable winter!

Chimneys are a unique structure.  They are self-supporting and they serve the important function of conducting super-heated air and noxious gases safely out of your home.

Chimneys which are built with a lot of mass and structure above the roofline are susceptible to several factors.

One is Water Damage and Erosion.  Here, in Portland and the surrounding areas, we   experience near continual dampness in long, wet seasons.  Chimneys often get saturated from water on the outside and down the inside—this means the chimney brick structure gets eroded both on the outside and the inside and often the interior erosion is accelerated by acids left behind by fires and furnace combustion which speed up the process of deterioration.  This is a problem encountered with smaller chimneys as well as larger structures.
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Choosing the right professional contractors for a masonry project is difficult, particularly if the homeowner is not fully knowledgeable on brickwork. Homeowners should research and find a contractor that will do a good job at a reasonable cost who are well versed in the type of project being proposed. The importance of going with the right masonry contractor lies in the fact that masonry should be used as a compliment to a homes décor because it gives a homeowner a chance to make a house differentiate from the rest within a neighborhood. Because, there are so many choices of size, colors, and textures to choose from to match the homeowners taste, it’s extremely important to select the right contractor who will successfully help you in the project.
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