Fireplace repair question.

[feminazi]

The earthquake we had here in San Jose last week knocked 2 pieces of mortar out of my fireplace. It's a stone fireplace, not brick, and the mortar was at the right (inside) of a stone that's about 8" x 10".

The two pieces that fell out are each 1"x1"x4" long. I can fit them back in the place they came out of ok. I'm just wondering what I should use to "glue" them in place. Is there some type of adhesive I can use or do I need to re-mortar?

TIA

[Kingshakabobo]

1. I'm assuming you are talking about the 'outside' portion of the fireplace? Not inside the fire-box?

If it's on the outside I suppose a good construction adhesive would work UNLESS it's too close to the opening and subject to higher temperatures.

[feminazi]

2. yes, it's outside

i'll check out the adhesive

[Warpy]

3. you're always going to see the cracks

so I'd be tempted to get a small bucket of mortar and redo the whole seam.

I'm a fussbudget, though.

I'd also get an inspector to make sure there is no internal damage to the chimney.

[feminazi]

4. Warpy, that's a good idea to have it inspected.

I thought about redoing the area but I'm concerned I won't match the color of the existing mortar. It's not an area that's readily noticeable so I don't think the seams would be a big deal.

I ought to just have a pro come in and do it. It probably won't cost much, but I like to tackle these things first and see how well I can mess them up before I turn them over to the experts. :)

Like the time I cut thru a stud on my back deck with the reciprocating saw. That was fun! :rofl: Power tools are SO cool!

Thanks to instructions from some kind folks here on DIY I was able to fix it myself.