Summertime is coming soon! Before you know it, it’ll be time for summer travel. If you’re looking for beauty and history all wrapped together in one place, there’s no better state to visit than Virginia. There is the natural splendor of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rich history of Monticello and Civil War battlefields. You don’t have to travel far to find something to excite your senses or fuel your hunger for information. Virginia is also full of beautiful, old, historic estates and houses. If you are lucky enough to own one of these stately homes, you may also have a fireplace that’s in need of restoration and repair. Are you looking at restoring a fireplace? If so, the first place to start is to have it inspected by experts who know what it takes to do the job right. The experts at Old Dominion Chimneys!
What Is Necessary Before Restoration
Has your fireplace hasn’t been used in quite a while? If so, there are some things you need to check to determine if your fireplace can be restored. First, the chimney flue tiles have to be intact. Also, the fire bricks have to be installed correctly in the unit. Lastly, the damper has to open and close correctly. If these things are operable, you should be able to rebuild or restore your chimney.
Do you have more than one fireplace in your home? it’s probably a good idea cost and safety-wise to pick one of the fireplaces to restore. Burning a fire in an old fireplace on a regular basis causes stress to the masonry. So, the best approach is to add a flue liner to the one you choose to use and seal off the rest.
Repointing Mortar
If your building inspector finds:
- missing mortar
- cracks in the mortar joints
- buckled walls
- masonry that is disintegrating
- walls that are damp to the touch
Then this probably means that your mortar needs to be repaired, or maybe even repointed!
So, what does it mean to repoint? Repointing involves digging out mortar joints and refilling them with new mortar. This process always involves a certain amount of effort. However, when you’re talking about repointing a historic fireplace, special care needs to be taken. When you’re working on your fireplace, you’ll need to try to make the texture, composition, and color of the mortar as close as possible to the original mortar. You’ll also want the mortar joints to be as close as possible to the original width. It’s also important to consider the compression strength of the mortar. This is to make sure that it is as close to the historic mortar as possible.
Hire the Best
Restoring your historic fireplace is not a task to take lightly. You’ll want to hire a company that has the expertise, the knowledge, and the experience to do the job right. Old Dominion Chimneys has worked with all the methods and materials that have historically been used on chimneys throughout Virginia. Plus, they will work hard to make sure that your historic chimney system is restored to its original beauty. Give them a call today to get the process started!
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