Q: I have a masonry fireplace that puffs smoke into the room when a fire is burning. It gets worse as the fire dies down. I've spoken with three bricklayers who build fireplaces and have received ...

Measure the area for the surround and the fireplace dimensions. Determine the exact top of the fireplace, because you’ll be setting a support slab across both sides of the surround to complete it. Dry ...

Q: I just moved into my new home and it has a full masonry fireplace. It’s 55 inches wide and has an arched opening that’s 33.5 inches at its peak. It looks like regular brick mortar was used with the ...

Every winter, I get quite a few emails from readers who suffer from smoky fireplaces. Just a month ago, one of my amateur radio friends reached out to me with the same problem. After asking him some ...

It’s that time of year when you might be thinking of starting your first indoor fire – if you haven’t already gotten your fireplace or wood-burning stove going. I happen to have two wood-burning ...