How do I repoint my chimney/and what should I use?

Question

I want to repoint the back of my chimneybreast, as I want to use it with an open fire. The house dates back to 1905, how should I repoint this, and what should I use to do it?

Answer 1

you could use fire cement and building sand at 3 to 1 ...rake out and wet bricks before you start ..keep mortar stiff

Answer 2

If you mean where the actual fire sits then some fire cement.

If not then some 'regular' mortar will do the job. Chase out the joints to a minimum of 13mm 1/2", dampen down and slowly repoint.

Start at top of the wall and work slowly, there is a art and a skill to repointing.

Answer 3

You can get pre mixed bags of sand and cement from B&Q, mix it up in a bucket with water, using a small trowel until it is a thick consistent paste that slides off your trowel cleanly. This is "mortar".

With some mortar on a large trowel in your left hand and the small "pointing trowel" in your right, fill up the gaps that you have chiselled away. Use the underside of the pointing trowel to push the mortar well into the cracks.

When the excess mortar that is poking out of the joints is starting to dry it will go a little crumbly / sandy. Brush it off at this point with a soft brush to clean it up with a nice finish.

Answer 4

fire clay, which was available in cans and used as sealant for open fires and flues for solid fuel burners/ boilers.

If the chimney breast has been stripped of its fireplace and is now just a square hole you will have to fit a 'throat plate' which would have been part of the original fireplace, to enable the fire to draw, if your oppen fire is to be a 'basket' style, otherwise you will need to fit a fire back which should be available from a builders merchant.

A bigger problem may be if the pointing has failed in the chimney stack which will then leak into the building, a serious problem which may be cured by inserting a liner into the chimney which is quite costly.

Have the integrity of the flue checked before undertaking any other maintenance, you may decide not to continue!