Block off plate won't fit...

[SLOOC1]

Last week I used the Wiki block off plate instructions & had a blockoff plate made up at my local steel shop. I took the proper measurments etc...got the plate home & attempted putting it up & in place. The plate came out great. The plate won't fit due to uneven bricks on the back wall of the fireplace just below the smoke shelf. What do you guys do when you have uneven bricks? Basically everything fits up fine except for the back wall portion. What is creating it is the middle brick is sticking out farhter than the bricks closer to the corners. The middle portion of the blockoff plate is catching the center brick & not allowing the entire plate to push up & seat properly. If I was able to find a way to push the plate up so it will stay in place...there would be pretty major gaps at both corners at the end of the plate. I'm afraid that if I push & bang the plate too hard I will bust the brick & then I will be really screwed! Has anyone ran into a similar situation ? What would you do?


Thanks!

Eric

 

[webbie]

We always make them on the job and the key is to make them a little small and have the angle of the folded down lips make up the difference.

It is often difficult to get them into place......there is a knack to it. We have pounded quite a few pretty hard....usually putting the front-most part of the pan up first and then pounding the rear and sides up with a blunt hammer or block of wood and a hammer.

In your case, you might have to rebend the part that does not fit - further back. You can do this with a hammer, etc. over a piece of wood.

We have never broken masonry doing our pounding....not saying it is not possible, but never happened to us.

 

[begreen]

Can you notch the plate so that it clears the one brick that is sticking out? Put the plate up in place and mark the brick's edges on the plate with a Sharpie pen. Also note and measure how far it projects into the plate. Then, take your shears and cut two straight notches just past the brick's contact point, to the depth of the projecting brick. Fold this notched section downward so that it clears the brick when the plate is pushed up in place. Then bang the notched section back tight to the brick and seal.