Fireplace Mortar ?

Gomez · Dec 1, 2004

As others have mentioned, try to get refractory cement to make the repair.

I found this link for some stuff in a tube. Should make repair easy if you can find something like this. Check your local fireplace shop. Fireplace Mortar

If you can't find the refractory mortar, since you are placing a stove in the fireplace, you may not need to use refractory cement. Just plain mortar mix may work fine.

Chuck52 · Dec 1, 2004

Ace hardware stores carry premixed furnace and fireplace cement in pint containers for just a few bucks. That may be all you need if you have just a few spaces to fill. I even found that stuff in a store in Jacksonville, Florida back when I was driving my son's Jeep back home while he vacationed in the Persian Gulf. It's good for temporary fixes of cracks in exhaust manifolds, which is what I've used it for.

Chuck

rswyan · Dec 1, 2004

( but be sitting down when you get the price for the premixed version which is probably what you should be using. )

/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Great ..... I'll actually have to look up in the shed - my wife picked up some sealant for stove pipe that I used for the furnance chimney up in the shed - it came in a small tub, was slightly moist, and about the consistancy of a stiff clay. Maybe that's the stuff.

( Should also check flue size required for the fireplace. If the existing chimney is too large the flue gas velocity is reduced and proper draft is hard to maintain. )

Probably not alot I'm going to be able to do about the flue size at this point. The flue for the chimney in the basement is the same as the one upstairs (the one that the insert was in previously) - about 10.5" x 10.5" I.D. - the opening out of the insert is much smaller than that - 5.5" x 7.5".

rswyan · Dec 1, 2004

( A hand truck works well if you want/need to move a few at a time (e.g. coming in from 60' away). )

Yeah ........ the difficulty is that the wood pile is across the lawn - there isn't really any path to it .... I'd have to shovel a path over to it once the snow flies (highly unlikely) - that's why I'm probably going to move the entire pile onto the patio under the deck. It will be right outside the entrance to the basement room where the fireplace insert will be and it will be easy to just take a container outside a couple of feet, load it, and walk back in - although I may well load a couple there and bring in with the hand truck.

rswyan · Dec 1, 2004

Egon,

( If the existing chimney is too large the flue gas velocity is reduced and proper draft is hard to maintain. )

Could you elaborate a bit on this ? I would say the flue is obviously too large for the fireplace insert .... but I don't ever recall having a problem with getting enough draft when it was in the upper fireplace - and I would think it would be even less of a problem in the lower one (another 10' of height.) The chimney itself is in the middle of the house so it stays warm - and contains three flues - the two for the fireplaces and one for central forced air gas furnace (no longer used) & gas hot water heater.

rswyan · Dec 1, 2004

Gomez & Chuck,

Thanks guys - yeah I think I'm good to go - pretty sure the stuff the wife picked up that I used on the stove pipe in the shed will work. As far as I can tell I only have a few small cracks to fill, down around the bottom of the fireplace. But I think I am going to have a chimney sweep that does repairs come out and do an inspection of the of all three flues - just to be safe.

Egon · Dec 1, 2004

Most airtight stoves and inserts will specify the diameter of chimney for their unit. This is the size at which it will burn most efficiently.

Up here we have to use a metal insert inside the flue for wood burning stoves. Our chimney is tile flue with brick around it. The wood stove needs the steel liner also to comply with codes.

Egon