The city’s historic districts, including Virginia Heights and Interlachen, have many original masonry fireplaces with firebrick fireboxes, deep smoke shelves and cast-iron dampers. That’s the backdrop for most fireplace calls here.
Firebox, damper, smoke chamber, doors
Fireplace repair works from the fire outward. The firebox takes the heat: in a masonry fireplace that means firebrick and refractory mortar (firebox repair); in a factory-built unit, refractory panels (new refractory panels). The damper above it controls the draft and seals the flue when the fireplace is off (damper repair or replacement). The smoke chamber funnels smoke into the flue, and rough or damaged walls there push smoke back into the room (smoke chamber work).
Doors and glass keep sparks in and room air from being pulled up the flue; cracked glass is new glass for the fireplace doors.
Fireplaces in Winter Park
Original fireboxes here are usually repairable: repointing with refractory mortar, replacing spalled firebrick and freeing or replacing the throat damper. Where a remodel added a gas insert or factory-built unit, those are repaired with the maker’s parts.
Symptoms and likely repairs
| Symptom | Often points to | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke at the opening | Damper, smoke chamber or draft | smoke spilling from the fireplace |
| Cracks in the firebox | Heat cycling, water, or age | what a cracked firebox means |
| Damper stuck open or shut | Rust from water coming down the flue | a damper that won’t open or close |
| Doors that won’t latch | Worn hinges, warped frame, gaskets | fireplace doors that won’t close |
Repair, restore or replace
| Situation | Usual answer |
|---|---|
| Masonry firebox with cracked bricks or eroded joints | Repair; see repairs for wood-burning fireplaces |
| Older masonry fireplace with several worn parts | restoring an older fireplace |
| Factory-built unit with cracked panels, parts available | Repair with listed parts |
| Factory-built unit rusted through or parts discontinued | a new listed unit |
Which fireplace service?
| Feature | This page | Specialist pages |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Wood-burning and factory-built fireboxes, dampers, smoke chambers, doors | Gas burners, pilots, valves and controls; electric fireplaces |
| Where | Here | the gas fireplace repair service and the electric fireplace service |
Covers
- This page
- Wood-burning and factory-built fireboxes, dampers, smoke chambers, doors
- Specialist pages
- Gas burners, pilots, valves and controls; electric fireplaces
Where
- This page
- Here
- Specialist pages
- the gas fireplace repair service and the electric fireplace service
Gas piping and connections are quoted as separate, permitted work.
Fireplace repair across Winter Park
Repairs are available anywhere in Winter Park, including the Interlachen Historic District. Tell us whether the fireplace is brick or factory-built, wood or gas, and what it’s doing; the rating plate model helps for prefab units. If you’d like the chimney checked too, add an inspection of the fireplace and flue. For the rest of the house, see chimney, fireplace and vent work in Winter Park. The same service covers fixing fireplaces in Maitland, Orlando fireplace service and firebox and damper repair in Eatonville.
For the full background, see how fireplace repair works and masonry vs. factory-built fireplaces.
References (3)
Figures for Winter Park and the references used on this page.