Boone/ Banner Elk Fireplace repair.

Recently we were faced with an interesting challenge: to remove and rebuild an arched opening over a firebox to improve the draw and function of the fireplace.  We also replaced damaged firebricks.

Here you can see the fireplace with the arch removed. We made a template of the arch and built a form so we could reuse the arch stones and keep the look of the original. We also cleaned the stones of the soot that had built up due to the poor draw.

Here is the form we constructed. You can also see the plastic enclosure we built to protect the finished house from the dust and mess.

Here we have placed the arch stones. The next step is to fill in over top of the arch and clean the blackened stones underneath the mantel. We hope to hear back from the owners that the fireplace no longer smokes.