Asbestos or transite lined firebox?

[gossimer68]

I recently purchased a home in SC with a fireplace. House was built in 1953. The home inspector stated the fireplace and chimney are in very good condition and looked to be hardly ever used. My question is this.... inside the firebox appears to have been painted black at some point, some small pieces of paint are peeling. Under the paint appears to be a light tan material, which when poked with a knife, seems softer than brick and pieces flake off. Also does not feel solid like block when I knock on it with my knuckle. Could this be some sort of asbestos liner? Any ideas? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

 

[bholler]

I recently purchased a home in SC with a fireplace. House was built in 1953. The home inspector stated the fireplace and chimney are in very good condition and looked to be hardly ever used. My question is this.... inside the firebox appears to have been painted black at some point, some small pieces of paint are peeling. Under the paint appears to be a light tan material, which when poked with a knife, seems softer than brick and pieces flake off. Also does not feel solid like block when I knock on it with my knuckle. Could this be some sort of asbestos liner? Any ideas? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

It is possible but much more likely that it is deteriorated brick because moisture has gotten in and been trapped by the paint.

 

[peakbagger]

Fire brick has a similar color as Cheerios, (light tan to yellowish). Hardware stores and home supply stores may have fire brick in stock that you could compare it to. Its a fired product so it should be hard. It probably compromised if its soft.

 

[bholler]

Fire brick has a similar color as Cheerios, (light tan to yellowish). Hardware stores and home supply stores may have fire brick in stock that you could compare it to. Its a fired product so it should be hard. It probably compromised if its soft.

Firebrick come in lots of different colors. Even the standard buff colored ones vary a lot from batch to batch

 

[gossimer68]

Thank you for the replies. I've investigated a little further and it does appear to be fire brick. The mortar seems to be a bit softer than the brick, I can push a thin pick right into it. Deterioration due to moisture would make sense... when we bought the house the chimney cap was missing, who knows for how long.