brick

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  1. C

    Full masonry brick and concrete blocks wall hole size

    Hi and thanks in advance for the help. I got this indoor masonry fireplace that has an indoor masonry chimney in the living room. It is location in the middle of my house. I am preparing to make a hole in the back of the fireplace (on the dining room brick wall) to install a brand new wood cook...
  2. St. Coemgen

    Your Opinions: Homestead Renovations, Fixing And Upgrading Our Chimney

    A Youtube Video: My main concern is this "bricky" (a UK term) is treating a stainless steel chimney like a masonry chimney and "bricking" it in at least on one side. I always thought a steal chimney needs some air space all around to dissipate heat and prevent issues. Or am I wrong? Is...
  3. HoffDNA

    Can I remove the brick lining my firebox permanently to make room for an insert?

    Hi all! Our firebox is very small and I'd like to put in a propane insert. I was wondering if I can remove the brick lining the firebox to make room for a larger insert. (I would hire an expert to do the removal.) Our central chimney is made of large cinderblocks and was built in 1998. Is the...
  4. N

    What Gauge Metal Studs for Vertical Brick Veneer Wall?

    Hello, I appreciated the input on my previous thread about building a non combustible wall and hearth for my upcoming Nectre N550 installation. I now have a more straightforward structural question: What gauge metal studs can i trust to support 1/2” cement board and thin brick veneer on a...
  5. T

    Building a brick hearth on wood floor

    Hi All, I'm currently in the process of swapping out a propane unit with a woodstove (Jotul Firelight CB). I'm looking to build a brick hearth with a wood mantel and while researching how to do so I have some questions about how I should put the brick down on the wood floor. It seems that when...
  6. T

    Pellet Stove Basement Venting

    Hello, I am interested in installing a pellet stove in my basement. My house has a brick exterior. I am interested in going through the rim joist and then out the brick. I have been searching around for an example of this, but I cannot find it. I did find something similar. It was mentioned to...
  7. C

    Sealed flue - am I going to have problems?

    Had the top of my 120yr old chimney rebuilt. One of the flues is only about a bricks wythe, unlined, and unused. This corridor is was open from the top all the way to the basement and not connected to anything but it is open in the basement. The contractor took the liberty of ignoring the...
  8. C

    Restoring a brick, 100 yr old sagging hearth

    I've recently inherited a few gorgeous fireplaces (4) that are in need of some repair, all built in the late 1800's. They have not been burned in for some time (years) and the hearths seem to be sinking/sagging/leaning, all in the same way but to varying degrees of severity. These aren't...
  9. I

    Alcove Design Help

    Maybe I'm just dense but I can't seem to find a straight-forward answer anywhere for this. Attached is a photo of the "alcove" where my wood stove will sit. Also attached is a drawing of the dimensions. The alcove is 1/4-inch Hardie Backer Cement Board, which covers wood studs and is fastened...
  10. K

    Mortar or thin-set mortar for filling brick joints in hearth pad?

    Question for anyone with brick hearth pad building experience: what should our joints be filled with? Mortar or thin set? We used thin set for adhering the brick to the Durock with a 1/4” notched trowel - spritzed with water first - which worked great and the bricks are very firmly adhered. Due...
  11. A

    Wood stove chimney liner potential issue?

    Hey all! I posted a little while back about installing a jotul into by existing old masonry chimney (no existing clay flue). I managed to get a flexible ss liner that is insulated with the 1/2 blanket down the chimney and connected into the top of my wood stove. My issue is the liner seems to...
  12. projectanavita

    Traditional Hearth Modification questions

    I have an 1880's house I am looking to install a wood stove in. I was told a traditional hearth, with bricks, doesn't meet the k value requirements in the manual. So I cut into the knotty pine with the goal of building my own hearth out of aircrete since the K value is really high and even...
  13. M

    Help with hearth and surround modifications for wood stove insert

    We recently moved into an older (1960s) 2,500 sq ft home with a wood fireplace and oil heat. We’re looking to put a wood stove insert in the fireplace to improve our current heating situation. I’ve been reading lots on this forum and am considering the Enviro Boston or Venice 1700 models as...
  14. N

    Shared wall/brick hearth for added heat storage/release

    Hello, New to the forum and looking for some advice. I have a Drolet Savannah (found on CL for $250) that I plan on installing in our 1100sq. ft. single story home (slab construction). The plan is to centrally locate it on a wall that will partition a bedroom area. My hope was to use brick or...
  15. Y

    CUTTING/GRINDING BRICK IN FIREPLACE FOR BUCK 74 INSTALL

    Greetings! Wonderful to discover this great forum. I've found a couple of threads dealing with my challenge, but it appears most of these other explorations of cutting/grinding brick were smaller in scope. I have fallen in love with the Buck 74 as an install for the 15' masonry fireplace in our...
  16. P

    Buck 26000 questions

    New to using a wood burning stove. Read the manual, but doesn’t say a whole lot. Wondering if I need the wood grate inside our freestanding stove and are the bricks necessary? I’ve read that bricks are only needed if burning coal, but we are only burning wood. Have read others that contradict...
  17. M

    Where to find 9" x 4" x 1.25" Firebrick? (Englander NC-30)

    Hi all, I got an Englander NC30. It's in good shape, but I accidentally broke some of the bricks during transport. For the life of me I can't find any replacements. Lowe's sells bricks, but they're 9 x 4.5 instead of 9 x 4 (even though their website describes them as 4" actual size... false...
  18. KPru

    Chimney top rebuild, Liner/Insert install, Data logging

    I recently completed rebuilding the top of my chimney, adding a liner and installing a wood insert. I wanted to share here for several reasons: I'm pretty proud of about 95% of the project and wanted to document it As an amateur DIY'er, this took a lot of research/learning (much here), and...
  19. E

    Newbie... Having a hard time.

    Howdy, I'm totally new to this whole wood burning thing. So far, I absolutely love it, but I definitely have a lot to learn... Right now, my problem is I'm having a really hard time burning a nice hot fire for a decently long amount of time. I'll explain my set up. -Century CW2900i with...
  20. G

    Cleaning brick fireplace with muriatic acid

    My brick fireplace has some water damage and is generally dirty from 50 years of use. I grabbed some muriatic acid but there doesn't seem to be any good tutorial videos. Does anyone have any experience or found a tutorial that was helpful?
  21. seaninnj

    Time lapse - German Schmeer and fireplace insert install

    Took the GoPro and setup a time lapse to capture the application of the german shimmer on the old fireplace brick. We love how it turned out. Thanks all for the tips on how to get this done without too much fuss.
  22. M

    Soapstone vs Brick vs Anything Else

    Hello, Just placed a bear (Papa) in my basement yesterday that I had found. While moving it, we emptied the bricks to make it lighter and found quite a few broken ones, so I decided to research different options. I wanted to know the best material with which to replace the bricks? Fire...
  23. J

    Mantel Installation on Brick

    Hello All, First forum post here. Lots of great information, and I'm hoping the experience here will be able to help me on this tangential but related topic! We recently purchased a home built in the 70s with a wood burning fireplace. I originally thought it was entirely brick, but after...
  24. B

    Building Rumford fireplace Advice Needed

    Hi guys I'm new on this forum. I need an advice from the experts who are familiar with building a Rumford fireplace. I'm using the plans provided by rumford.com website. But I cannot use their components so I need to cast them by myself. Since my chimney is already built I need to make a...
  25. Don H

    Removing Fire Bricks

    Picked up a Papa Bear today and it needs several bricks replaced. I believe the bottom bricks come out first, followed by the side and then back bricks. However these bricks seem to be in very tight. Anyone have any tips on how to remove them? What tools to use? Where to start (front or back)...
  26. R

    Outdoor Fireplace Chimney Extension

    I have a brick outdoor fireplace built against an exterior wall of my house. The chimney will need to be extended up about 12' due to a second floor addition. I'd rather not add more brick so thinking some sort of class A extension is best. The fireplace get's used a few times a year. The...
  27. M

    Mid-Century Fireplace Conversion Questions

    Hey all, Sorry if this is a re-post, but I searched around and couldn't find answers to all my fireplace questions I have. I have a house that was built in the late 50s / early 60s, and am looking to get the fireplace operational again. I recently had a chimney sweep inspect everything, and...