STONE FIREPLACE REPAIR 

Who else loves: - the sound of a hoe scraping/mixing mortar, cement, or concrete in a wheel barrow - the sound of a trowel scraping/mixing mortar or cement in a plastic pan - the sound of a trowel or float applying mortar or cement on a hard surface - the sound of an edger cutting a radiused edge on a concrete project

Mike....Mike....Mike.... sneaking in the "ash trick." We should have expected it since your task was a Stone Fireplace.... But... you gave everyone a "new trick" and to remember to think on their feet when working on their task.... Thanks Mike.... God Bless

When he started I said oh boy, this looks like a big deal.. but then he said, "no big deal" !!!!.. It felt great !

Also, when I'm passing by masonry everywhere that needs repair I now say to my wife, "no big deal".

your videos are really the only videos you can actually learn from.

Seeing this video really makes me long for summer and a warm breeze! Greetings from a snowy Sweden.

Seen you do the “mud trick” many times; didn’t expect the “ash trick.” Nice work as always.

Always a pleasure watching you get things dirty. Thanks Mike.

nice to see something green. its stil snowing in Oslo!

I'd love to see a video on how to build one of those!

Seasoning is an important part of stove/fire place ownership people always forget about. Great job as always Mike.

It looks like you are having a nice mild winter for North East Pennsylvania. Thank you for the video sir.

Another great job Mike ! Be careful about making it look like you weren’t there , the customer might not want to pay the bill !

Just gotta say, you have really been like a mentor for me in this profession, keeping it simple, like it's suppose to be. Much appreciate your ground-to-earth old-school way of thinking. Folks like you are hard to get by these days. All the best!

Great Idea using the ashes to make it match.

MHSCS new Tee. " No Big Deal". the mantra for all work :)

Your suggestion to cover these in the cold is interesting. A lot like putting a cap on a chimney. Keep as much rain snow and ice out of what's underneath as possible. Thank you so much for these videos Mike.

I have used the mud trick...it worked perfect.

Thanks for sharing, wishing you warmth and sunny skies.

Wish I had that fireplace in my workshop today. Thanks Mike. Paul

Great video as always Mike

Love your work and comentary. Ive learned alot from you Mike. Thank you! Greetings from Macedonia.

I always make a big deal of projects but I am learning from you. Just get it done ( for me, not so easy but I am learning).

Saving old pillow foam for my Summer projects...Thank Honest Mike Looks good.

Another good video Mike nice job.

Another Mike Haduck, great informative video ! Nick

Nice job Mike! I love the mud trick.

Great tips as always, Mike.

HI MIKE GREAT TO SEE YOU. GREAT REAIR ON THE OUTSIDE FIRE PIT. BE WELL THANKYOU FOR SHARING :)

You're a senior consultant of doing things right Mike

Really great video mike always learn something

Another great one, got to order me that blue shirt!

good stuff

I've learn a lot...

Good video, Mike. I need to deal with some mortar cracks and I could use the method you used here on the side where you patched it over with some concrete and then do the mud trick. Thanks for the pointer.

Good day Mr Haduck ! Have you seen West Coast custom concrete step pours there impressive ! check em out they seam to defie gravity

When it’s cold in pa, I do the same, starting with small fires the slowly after things warm up I let it burn bigger / hotter.. just for that reason.

nice!! wish I had a place to put a fireplace lol

Hi Mike. We have a old 1890 barn post beam and granite foundation 3 sides other in dirt sitting in block. We cannot find any courageous builders to tackle the redo job to straten the walls. I pray for your advice. I'll do it myself. Thank you ♡

Any videos on adding stain to bring out the beauty in my fireplace hearth. When I purchase it the stone slab was beautiful. I believe the stone yard added the color to sell it.

My nephew built a barbecue out of the round glacial stones you find all over here on Long Island and he must have used the wrong type of cement because after the first fire it all fell apart. Then he had to rebuild it with a different type of cement and it’s held together ever since. I don’t know if he added salt or something to the mortar or something else. Are there certain elements that withstand heat better if they are combined with mortar?

I need a repair to my outdoor fireplace

Thank you Mike. Appreciate the Bible verse

Thanks again for the fine videos. Can anything be done with a bag of portland that became hard?

Hi Mike, Im in the process of repointing a similar fireplace but with an arch above the firebox. The keystone had fallen away slightly. I dont want to knock it out of there but would pouring a loose mix of mortar behind it to fill the void be a good idea? Is a refractory cement or mortar needed? I would continue to repoint around it. Thanks again for all your videos. You are an inspiration for many.

Mike, if you built this new, would you line this with a couple layers of refractory brick and refractory mortar to isolate the heat of the fire from the outer stone?

Just finished our stone chimney repair yesterday, no big deal. BUT, we used the Portland cement and I noticed that others recommend a refractory cement. What’s the difference, and will our Portland cement not be as effective?

I watched the whole video, “No big deal” 😉

mike do you ever add lime to your portland and sand mix?

I really appreciate your videos. I inherited the old family farmhouse built in 1907 here in Southeast Kansas. It has a sandstone foundation (from a quarry on the property), and I need to repoint it and consider if repairs are needed. The foundation stones are various sizes, but most all of them are 18" deep from front to back. Even though they are soft sandstone, there are very few cracked stones and they seem to hold up to water pretty well. There is mortar at the front face, but on the backside under the house there is no or very little mortar. The crawl space is only about 2 feet, which makes it impossible to do much work under the house. The original mortar is lime, but it has been repointed in places over the years with a mortar mix with at least some portland cement. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind: How far down should I try and repoint the stones? There appears to be a layer (or more) of stones below grade, and from what I can see the mortar is rotting (or completely rotted) away. Also there are places where the top of the stone has subsided, leaving a 1/4 to 1 inch gap between the top of the foundation and the sill plate of the wall. Can I fill that gap with mortar, or would I be better off using something like cedar shims? Thank you again, and God bless you for giving so much to those around you.

No big deal Mike strikes again!

"If you want something to stick, you gotta wet it first" also applies as dating advice. 🤣😎

Hi Mike. What weight masonry hammer would you recommended for a home DIY situation with occasional concrete work?

my wife does the mud trick but calls it a mud facial. She says it makes her look younger. But trust me, it ain't working!

Hey Mike? I have to ask. I know you mention PA weather a lot when it comes to to the humidity and frost thaw cycles destroying lime mortars. I'll be living in PA soon. Are you talking lime portland mixes? Or are you talking lime hydraulic and non-hydraulic/putty/quicklime/etc. mortars. I'm very very interested in lime and I'm clueless about what you're trying to say exactly, and I'd love to get a little more explanation about your experiences. I read a bunch of articles about lime mortars already, but it's in a rediscovery phase still and it seems to have a huge lack of professionals.

Was that 2 sand to 2 Portland?

Show us how to build this.

Yo mike u seem like a real nice guy so Im not tryin to offend u but whats with the pointing your hands? Come on dude dont take the skill out of our trade sheesh U look like your makin pottery