Fireplace insert burning in a cozy living room

Fireplace Repair by Your Local Crew

The firebox takes the most heat in the house. Over time its brick and mortar crack, the damper rusts or sticks, and the smoke chamber gets rough. We repair the firebox and the parts above it so the fireplace works and drafts the way it should.

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About Fireplace Repair

A masonry fireplace works through proportion. The hearth in front protects the floor. The firebox holds the fire and reflects heat into the room. Above it, the opening narrows into the throat, where the damper sits, and behind the damper a ledge called the smoke shelf turns falling air back up. The smoke chamber then funnels everything into the flue. When one of those parts wears out or was built out of proportion, the fireplace smokes, wastes heat or becomes unsafe.

Fireplaces in this region come in many generations. Brownstones and older rowhouses often have small, shallow fireboxes built for coal, with cast iron fronts and narrow throats. Midcentury houses in New Jersey and on Long Island tend to have wide, deep wood-burning openings. Newer homes may have factory-built fireplaces, metal boxes lined with refractory panels, which follow their maker's rules rather than masonry practice. Each type fails differently, and each is repaired differently.

Repairing a fireplace well means diagnosing the whole unit before fixing one piece. A smoky fireplace with a rusted damper may also have an opening too large for its flue. A cracked firebox may come from fires built against the back wall. Once the cause is clear, repairs are done with materials rated for fire, and the fireplace is test-fired or draft-checked before it goes back into use.

What Our Crew Does

A conversation about how the fireplace behaves: smoke, drafts, smells or damage
Hearth, firebox walls and floor checked for cracks, gaps and loose brick
Damper opened, closed and checked for rust, warping and a tight seal
Smoke shelf and smoke chamber looked at through the throat with a light
Opening size compared against the flue it feeds
Repairs made with firebrick, refractory mortar or listed parts as the fireplace requires
A draft check before the fireplace is handed back

When to Call Us

Cracked or missing firebrick
A damper that will not open or close
Smoke coming into the room
Gaps in the firebox mortar
A fireplace you are afraid to use

How the Job Goes

Check the firebox
Brick, mortar, damper, smoke shelf and smoke chamber.
Written estimate
You get the options in writing before any work.
Repair
New firebrick and refractory mortar, a new damper or a top-sealing damper.
Test the draft
We confirm the fireplace drafts before we hand it back.

Your Options

Repair the throat damper or fit a top-sealing damper

A sound cast iron damper can be freed and adjusted. A worn one can be replaced, or the flue closed at the top instead.

Glass doors

Doors sized to the opening cut room air loss and keep sparks in. They need to be the type rated for the fireplace and used as their instructions say.

Gas logs

A vented gas log set in a sound masonry fireplace, with the damper fixed partly open per the log instructions. The gas line goes to a licensed gas fitter.

An insert

A closed firebox set into the opening with its own liner to the top. Turns a drafty open fireplace into a heater.

What Affects the Cost

How many parts need work: firebox, damper, smoke chamber or hearth
Masonry or factory-built, since prefab units need their own listed parts
Access through a small or awkward throat
Firebrick color and size matching on a visible firebox
Hearth repairs, which may involve flooring around it
Whether the flue above also needs sweeping or relining

Every job starts with a free written estimate, so you know the price before we start.

When It Cannot Wait

A gap in the firebox or hearth that shows wood framing or flooring behind it
The back wall bulging or leaning toward the room
Smoke filling the room despite an open damper
Scorch marks on the mantel, the floor or the wall beside the opening

Make It Last

Use a grate so logs sit off the floor and away from the back wall
Open the damper fully before lighting and close it once the ashes are cold
Burn wood only, not trash, wrapping paper or painted lumber
Have the fireplace swept and checked each year, even if it was used lightly
Shovel ashes into a metal container with a lid and keep it outside, away from the house

Questions About Fireplace Repair

Why does my fireplace smoke?

A closed or broken damper, a cold flue, a blocked flue or a firebox that is too big for the flue can all cause it. We find which one.

Can you replace a rusted damper?

Yes, with a new throat damper or a top-sealing damper at the top of the flue.

Do you work on gas fireplaces?

We work on the chimney, flue and venting of gas fireplaces.

What is the throat of a fireplace?

It is the narrow slot at the top of the firebox where the damper sits. The throat speeds up the smoke as it leaves the fire and directs it over the smoke shelf into the smoke chamber. A throat that is too wide, blocked or misshapen is a common reason a fireplace smokes, even when the flue above it is clean.

Can glass doors fix a smoky fireplace?

Sometimes they help, since closing them partly reduces the opening the flue has to serve. But many glass doors are meant to be open while the fire burns hot and closed only as it dies down. If the smoke comes from a blocked flue, a cold chimney or a house pulling air down, doors only hide the symptom. The cause needs finding first.

Can a fireplace that has been sealed for years be repaired?

In many cases, yes, though it needs more than a quick look. Sealed fireplaces often hide a missing damper, a flue reused by a boiler, or old cardboard and insulation stuffed into the throat. We open it up, inspect the flue from top to bottom and then tell you what it would take to make it safe.

Guides From Our Crew

Why homeowners call Pro 1

18,000+ Chimney Jobs. One Standard.

15+ years and 18,000+ chimney jobs taught us what homeowners want: a crew that shows up, explains it plainly and leaves the house as clean as they found it.

$500 OFF any chimney service

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Our own local crews
The people at your door work for us and live in the area. We never send subcontractors.
Licensed and insured
Your home and our crew are covered on every job, from a sweep to a full rebuild.
Free written estimate
You see what we found and what it takes to fix it, in writing, before any work starts.
Upfront pricing
The price we write down is the price you pay. No hidden fees and no surprise add-ons.
Fast response
Open 24 hours Sunday to Friday, with a real person on the phone and same-day visits when we can.
Clean, careful work
Floors and furniture covered, the roof and yard cleaned up, and a walk-through when we finish.

Fireplace Repair Near You

Limited time offer

$500 OFF

Any chimney service. Mention it when you call or book online.

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Mason working on a brick building from a lift — **18,000+** projects completed by our own crew

Simple from the first call

How It Works

Your callCall, text or book online
Tell us what you see or smell. A real person from our team answers and sets a time that suits you.
The visitFree chimney inspection
Our own crew arrives in a marked Pro 1 van, covers the floor and inspects the chimney from the firebox to the cap, free of charge.
The estimateFree written estimate
We walk you through what we found, in plain words, and put any repair in writing before work starts.
The workThe job, done right
We do the work, clean up the roof, the yard and the room, and walk you through the finished job.

Book before the holidays. Fireplaces get their heaviest use from Thanksgiving to New Year. A free inspection now catches nests, creosote and cracked flue tiles before the first big fire and the family gatherings.

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Get a Free Estimate

Leave your details and our local team calls you back to set a time.

Talk to your local chimney team

(844) 468-2410 Book Online