Index
How To Repair Damaged Chimney Bricks
How To Repair Flaking Fireplace, Chimney Bricks
Chimney bricks can flake, peel, crack or split. The cause is usually water leakage within the chimney interior; soaking into the brick, freezing and causing splitting of the outer brick.
The first thing that must be done is to inspect the capping on the top of the chimney; any crack or missing concrete must be replaced. A fresh coat of concrete over the entire top surface will put things in order.
Next using a chisel and hammer, remove all the unstable, loose pieces of brick from the chimney bricks. You need a solid base to make the repair to the flaking bricks; remove all loose pieces of cement and brick.
Start by making up a couple of jigs to help you repair the broken bricks. Cut a couple of wooden strips 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Measure the length and height of the bricks to be repaired and build the jig to fit the chimney ( see photo).
Place the jig onto the chimney; you will be filling up the inside of the jigs with a premixed high bonding concrete. Mix up half a small pail of water with a ratio of one portion of bond well glue to a 10 portion of water. Mix well and paint all the chipped/flaked areas with the water glue mix solution. Use what is left over of this solution to mix with the dry, premixed bonding cement. Mix the cement so that it is fairly stiff, but wet enough to stick well. Trowel the mixed cement into the jig and level up the surface by drawing the trowel over the surface of the applied cement. You have to wait 5 to 10 minutes to allow the cement mix to stiffen up before finally drawing the trowel across the surface for the finished look. The steeper the trowel angle, the rougher the surface becomes; scraping it across the top will give it a rough grooved, brick-like texture. If you have more than one flaked out brick, work on two at a time. Allow those two to set up before doing more.
This photo shows the curing concrete with the jig removed. To remove the jig; wait about half an hour so the concrete starts to cure and becomes stiffer and able to support it. Run your trowel around the inside of the jig and slowly remove the jig.
The bricks around the repaired area was washed down with a brush and water to remove any splashed concrete. This was done about a half hour later after the jig was removed. Any spilled or dropped concrete was also cleaned up. I decided to leave the repaired bricks in the natural color of the concrete, as it tended to blend in ok. The other option is to mix up a batch of paint to match the brick color; either mix the color into the cement as you mix it, or paint the finished product when dry.
Add to Bookmarks
More How To Tips
More How To Tips
Shopping Find N Choose Home Page
Sitemap
© copyright 1998-2009 Find N Choose, Fireplace Brick Chimney Repair Tips, Serving the Global Community - All Rights Reserved.
Today’s Valued Visitor
How to repair damaged fireplace brick chimneys; instructions for the average person. Pocket the money saved!