Mortar cracks, rear firebox wall, installing insert

[philNC]

Hello,

My fireplace is original to my house, built in '58. There are thin cracks in the joints in multiple places in the rear wall. I can press on the bricks and make them creak, but there is very little play. The black that you see is from running the vented gas logs shown in the picture; you can see it on the logs too. The chimney interior looks good.

Question is: I'm about to install an insert with a liner all the way to the top of the chimney. Do I need to do something about these cracks? My father is a brick mason of ~40 years and doesn't think it's a big deal, but his experience is in building new fireplaces and I wanted to double check with some experts.



Thanks a lot for reading

 

[jatoxico]

My bricks weren't movable but I still repaired the cracks in mine before install. Prob not a big safety issue now but once the insert is in there you cant see what's going on back there and I wouldn't want it to get any worse.

 

[bholler]

No issue at all install the insert after cleaning properly

 

[philNC]

No issue at all install the insert after cleaning properly

Is it ok if I caulk them just for the hell of it? I could also patch with actual mortar but I feel like the caulk would work better without removing/filling in the existing joints

 

[bholler]

Is it ok if I caulk them just for the hell of it? I could also patch with actual mortar but I feel like the caulk would work better without removing/filling in the existing joints

Absolutely do not caulk them. Fix them.properly or do nothing

 

[philNC]

Absolutely do not caulk them. Fix them.properly or do nothing

I reckon I'll just do nothing, but in case I ever want to revert it back to an open fireplace, let me ask you now: what's the truly correct fix? Would tuckpointing be enough or are the cracks indicative of a larger problem? Would a rebuild of all or part of the firebox be something to consider? My father did fix the crumbling crown of the chimney; I have to assume a lot of water had gotten down it over the years (I just bought the house last year).

 

[bholler]

I reckon I'll just do nothing, but in case I ever want to revert it back to an open fireplace, let me ask you now: what's the truly correct fix? Would tuckpointing be enough or are the cracks indicative of a larger problem? Would a rebuild of all or part of the firebox be something to consider? My father did fix the crumbling crown of the chimney; I have to assume a lot of water had gotten down it over the years (I just bought the house last year).

It looks like tuck pointing would be enough

 

[philNC]

It looks like tuck pointing would be enough

I appreciate your responses (and @jatoxico too). Now I can get the show on the road.

 

[philNC]

Absolutely do not caulk them. Fix them.properly or do nothing

One more thing....does it matter if the top back edge of the insert touches the brick on the back wall of the firebox?

 

[bholler]

One more thing....does it matter if the top back edge of the insert touches the brick on the back wall of the firebox?

Nope