Superior Masonry Montgomery designs and builds beautiful brick fireplaces for homeowners throughout Montgomery, AL. We create indoor and outdoor fireplace surrounds that are safe, efficient, and stylish. Enjoy a focal point that adds warmth and long term value.
Superior Masonry Montgomery provides professional brick fireplace throughout Montgomery, AL, Alabama and the surrounding area. Our licensed, insured crew delivers safe, clean, on-time work with a free estimate before anything begins. Call (334) 781-4198 or request your free quote.
Custom Brick Fireplaces Built for Montgomery Homes
A brick fireplace is more than a nice feature. In a Montgomery home it adds real comfort on damp winter days and becomes a focal point in the living room, den, or patio. At Superior Masonry Montgomery, we focus on building brick fireplaces that fit your house, your heating needs, and your budget, instead of forcing a one size fits all design.
We start by looking at how you use the space. Do you want a wood burning fireplace that really puts out heat, or a brick surround for a gas insert that is mostly about looks and convenience? We also look at clearances to walls and windows, ceiling height, and how the existing framing in your Montgomery home will support the firebox and chimney components. This avoids the common problem of a fireplace that looks good on paper but does not meet code or does not draw properly.
Superior Masonry Montgomery works with traditional red clay brick, smooth face brick, tumbled or reclaimed style brick, and thin brick veneer when weight or budget is a concern. We help you choose mortar color and joint style too, such as flush joints for a modern look or raked joints for deeper shadow lines. These details change the whole personality of the fireplace and are easier and cheaper to decide before the first brick is laid.
Montgomery’s humid climate and mild winters affect how we design and build. We pay close attention to moisture control around the chimney and to proper curing time for mortar, especially in the hotter months. By planning around local conditions, we reduce hairline cracking and staining that show up when workmanship is rushed or materials are not suited to Alabama weather.
How We Build a Brick Fireplace Step by Step
A strong, safe brick fireplace starts with a solid base. If the fireplace is going on a slab, we check for thickness and condition. Older Montgomery homes with raised wood floors usually need added support piers or a poured concrete footing under the fireplace. Skipping this step can lead to settling and cracking, so we never build heavy masonry on questionable framing.
Next we layout the firebox and hearth. For a wood burning unit, we use firebrick and high temperature refractory mortar inside the firebox, not regular brick and mortar. The firebox is sized to match the height and size of the planned chimney flue, which is critical for good draft. A firebox that is too shallow or too tall will smoke into the room. For gas units, we frame for the manufacturer’s insert and build the brick surround and hearth to those precise specs.
We then install the damper, smoke chamber, and flue system. In many Montgomery homes we use listed metal flue systems within a framed chase that we then wrap in brick. This gives you the traditional brick chimney look, often at a lower cost and weight than a full masonry chimney. Where a full masonry chimney is requested, we set clay flue tiles with proper mortar joints and insulation gaps around them.
Once the structure is in place, we lay the facing brick, mantle supports, and hearth extension. We constantly check level, plumb, and joint sizes because any wavy lines around a fireplace are hard to miss. After the brickwork cures, we clean the surface with mild cleaners suited for the specific brick, not harsh acids that can burn the face and lighten the color.
Before we call a job complete, Superior Masonry Montgomery does a draft test, checks clearances to combustible trim, and confirms compliance with local Montgomery and Alabama codes. If required, we coordinate final inspection with the city or county inspector so you are not left chasing paperwork.
Design Options That Work in Montgomery, Alabama Homes
Every brick fireplace we build starts with a design meeting. We bring sample photos, brick chips, and mortar color charts so you can see real options, not just guess. For older Midtown or Cloverdale style homes, many customers choose a traditional raised hearth with a simple soldier course brick detail and a stained wood mantle. In newer East Montgomery homes with open floor plans, we often build floor to ceiling brick features with clean lines and a lower profile hearth or even a flush hearth.
Brick layout patterns change the look as much as color. Running bond is most common, but herringbone panels in the firebox back or above the opening add a custom touch without a big cost increase. Basket weave or stacked bond can be used for accent bands near the mantle. Superior Masonry Montgomery can also incorporate stone or precast concrete mantles with brick supports, which works well in homes that already mix brick and stone on the exterior.
For outdoor brick fireplaces on patios, we plan for wind direction and smoke so your sitting area does not fill with fumes. In Montgomery, the prevailing winds and the orientation of many back patios mean we often shift the opening or chimney height slightly to keep smoke moving up and away. We can add wood storage boxes, cooking grates, and extended hearth seating to turn the fireplace into a true outdoor room feature.
Finish options include flush or raised hearths, brick corbels under the mantle, arched or squared firebox openings, and custom brick insets for mounting TVs above (with proper heat shielding and clearances). We also talk about future needs, such as leaving a concealed gas line stub in place even if you currently plan to burn only wood. That small step can save you from tearing out brick later if you decide to switch to gas logs.
Cost, Timing, and What Affects Your Brick Fireplace Budget
Homeowners in Montgomery often ask what a brick fireplace will cost. The answer depends on a few key factors: whether it is indoor or outdoor, wood burning or gas, full masonry chimney or metal flue in a brick chase, and how much structural work is needed under the unit.
A simple indoor brick surround around a factory built gas insert is usually the most economical option, since the firebox and flue are prefabricated and tested as a system. A full masonry wood burning fireplace with a brick chimney is at the higher end because it involves more labor, more material, and more detailed code requirements. Outdoor fireplaces can range widely depending on size, seating walls, and added cooking features.
Other cost drivers include brick type and pattern, complexity of details like arches and herringbone, and whether demolition of an existing unit is needed. In older Montgomery houses with non functioning or unsafe fireplaces, we sometimes remove the old firebox, reinforce the structure, and rebuild properly. That kind of repair work can add time and cost but is often still cheaper than trying to patch a bad system that will smoke or crack again.
Timing in our climate matters. In Montgomery, fall is our busiest season for brick fireplace work, because everyone starts thinking about cooler weather. If you want a new fireplace ready before Thanksgiving, it is smart to contact Superior Masonry Montgomery in late summer so there is time for design, permitting, and construction. We can build year round, but in the peak of summer we plan work earlier in the day so mortar does not dry too fast in the afternoon heat.
We provide clear written estimates that separate labor, materials, and any added structural work. If you are comparing quotes, make sure each contractor has included the same things: permits, flue system, finish brick, mantle prep, and cleanup. A cheaper number that is missing key elements is not a real savings once you add back what was left out.
Common Brick Fireplace Problems and How We Fix or Prevent Them
Many Montgomery homeowners call us after living with a problem fireplace for years. Common issues include smoke rolling into the room, bricks cracking around the firebox, stained faces, or a drafty, cold opening in winter. Superior Masonry Montgomery diagnoses the cause instead of just covering the symptoms.
Smoke spillage is often caused by a firebox that is out of proportion to the flue, or by a poorly shaped smoke chamber. We correct this by rebuilding or resizing the throat and smoke chamber, sometimes adding a properly sized chimney cap or extending the chimney above the roof line to improve draft. For gas units, improper venting or lack of combustion air can also cause poor performance, so we check those as well.
Cracked bricks near the firebox are usually the result of using standard brick in high heat areas or of inadequate expansion joints. We replace damaged units with real firebrick where needed and use proper refractory mortar so heat expansion does not keep breaking the joints. In Montgomery’s humid climate, water intrusion from the top of the chimney is another big cause of damage. We install or replace chimney caps, repair crowns, and flash the chimney correctly to prevent water from soaking into the brickwork.
Draft and heat loss problems are handled with tight fitting dampers, sometimes top mounted dampers that seal at the chimney cap, and by closing off unintended air gaps around the firebox. If a homeowner is tired of a hard to light, smoky wood fireplace, we can prepare the brickwork and flue for a gas insert conversion that keeps the brick look but solves the usability problems.
For new fireplaces, prevention is built into our process. Proper proportions, quality brick and mortar, correct flue sizing, and good moisture detailing mean fewer callbacks and a fireplace that works as well in ten years as it does on day one. When you hire Superior Masonry Montgomery, you get a local crew that knows what has gone wrong in other Montgomery fireplaces and designs yours to avoid those same mistakes.
