DIY heating furnace repair

In detail: DIY repair of a heating stove from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

We bought a house in the village with a stone stove, which turned out to be in rather bad condition. I had absolutely no experience in this matter, so I did not immediately notice that she was “defective”. She was whitewashed and seemed quite decent. I was afraid to undertake its repair myself, but I understood that if you invite a stove-maker, it will cost a very decent amount. In addition, I thought that if I repair it myself, then there will be experience and additional confidence in my abilities. So I started practicing myself - everything worked out for me, and not even bad at all. I will say right away that while the final repair of the furnace is not completed, there are still all sorts of little things to be done in the spring, but it is already working and is working well. So do not be afraid and feel free to take on the independent repair of the brick oven: I think you will succeed too. And now useful information from my experience, how to repair a brick oven with your own hands, both in the country and in a private house.

Brick. At the construction market I bought a brick of the Tula brick factory, which was called "stove brick". Professionals say that, in general, there is no special oven brick - any building ceramic brick of any brand will do, even M-75 - the main thing is that it has no cracks. But, by the way, I really liked the brick that I bought - smooth, without cracks, much better quality than the usual building brick. It cost 15 rubles apiece, and I took as many as 100 pieces. In some stores, they even sell them for 25 rubles apiece. By the way, 7 pieces were not enough, and I had to use the old one, which I took out of the oven. I also bought 20 pieces of fireclay bricks at 49 rubles apiece. Fireclay bricks can withstand very high temperatures, as much as 1800 degrees. I wanted to lining the firebox with them, but then it turned out that it would not work. So this expensive brick lies and waits in the wings - it will come in handy for a new oven.

Video (click to play).

Furnace casting. These are latches, furnace and blower doors, cleaning doors, cooking floor. The so-called scar casting (Zavod "Litkom") is the leader in quality. There is also a supplier from Balezino, but the quality there seems to be worse. I took the Rubtsov furnace door, and the ash door, as less important, I bought the Balezin one. I paid 1,500 rubles for everything. I did not consider imported casting: it is, of course, much better quality, but it also costs decent: I thought it was not advisable to buy it. I did not buy a cooking floor (stove): for now I decided to use the old one, which had been split, until spring. I didn't buy the grate either - I used the one that was in the old oven. By the way, it's homemade. Do-it-yourself brick oven repair did not include replacing valves and cleaning doors from me yet, so I did not buy them. I will do all this in the spring.

Basalt cardboard BVTM used for sealing when installing metal parts: cooking deck, door. I bought two sheets of 5 mm thickness at 156 rubles apiece. This was quite enough and even remained, but I think that it will still come in handy: during the life of the furnace, it may well be required.
Wire and metal tape. It is used when installing doors. I'll tell you more about this a little later. I found the wire in the garage, and bought the tape in the store (I gave 500 rubles for 20 meters) - the same as in the photo.

Drill with mixer attachment - used to prepare the solution.
Brush (drill attachment) - used to remove soot and old mortar from bricks in some places.
Grinder + disc for metal + metal disc for concrete - mainly used to cut bricks. It turns out quickly, evenly, but hefty dusty, so buy another respirator. Sometimes it was required to cut the metal too: now a corner of some of the oven sticks out - I cut it off completely, then the grate cut. The photo shows an example of using a grinder when working with bricks. This is a key brick, which is placed over the firebox door.

Building level - it is clear why.
Gon - it is better if it is long, I had a short one. I mainly used it to mark out bricks.
Roulette - for measurements of all kinds.
Marker - they marked the brick. I took the marker from my daughters from drawing sets and will not return it, because it has worn out in the trash.
Trowel, trowel - used to work with the solution. Basically I used a 70 mm wide spatula, it seemed to me that it is more convenient for them to work than with a trowel.
Hacksaw for wood (old) - used to cut a brick out of the oven at the seam. An irreplaceable thing. Sometimes it was required to take something smaller, then I used canvas for metal.
Hammer - used to neatly straighten a newly laid brick. And so, for other purposes, the hammer will find application.
Sponge for washing dishes - wetted the surfaces of bricks prepared for mortar with water.
Buckets - for mortar and for soaking bricks in water.

If non-critical cracks need to be repaired, then, of course, it is not necessary to disassemble the oven. We melt it - the seams expand. Then we thoroughly clean out the old mortar until we clean the brick well at the crack. It is convenient to work with a cloth for metal.
If a cracked brick needs to be replaced, then an old wood saw comes to the rescue for cutting bricks from masonry along the seam. Then carefully remove the brick and clean the bricks in the masonry, preparing them for mortar.
If most of the oven is in critical condition, then you have to take out a lot of bricks. It is very dusty. I did not think of separating the stove from the room with foil, and my whole house was covered with a layer of dust. We remove the bricks until we reach those that hold tight. But turn on your head, otherwise you can disassemble the whole stove. The fact is that some bricks that wobble a little can be left in the masonry. Then they will bond with their new neighbors, and everything will be fine. And, of course, we also take out all the cracked bricks, and also the burnt ones. Here, look at the photo of how my firebox looked like. She had to take it all apart and put it all over again. I took out about a little over 100 bricks from the entire oven.

After you have prepared the seams for repair (I wrote about this above), we wet the bricks with water using a sponge and put the mortar into the seam: we take it a little bit and with a trowel we "chase" the seam - we seal it with the edge of the trowel until the metal practically stops penetrating into the solution.

Do-it-yourself brick stove repair is very often a furnace repair. First of all, I took out all the burnt bricks and prepared the firebox for new masonry. But there was one serious problem: one of the walls of the furnace turned out to be load-bearing in the entire structure - let's say, the pipe rested on it. Therefore, I decided not to remove the bricks from this wall, but simply shifted the firebox to a half-brick to the side and laid out an absolutely new firebox wall. There is nothing particularly difficult in the masonry itself - just do everything carefully, take your time and try to keep all the bricks tied. Under the grate, I cut out the bricks with a grinder so that it would lie in the grooves, as it were. The grate must lie freely under its own weight with a gap of 5 mm from the bricks, otherwise it will expand from heating and begin to destroy the masonry. Some people advise to fill these free gaps with sand, but I did not - they themselves will be filled with ash.

All kinds of doors (furnace, blower, cleaning) are installed so that there is a gap of 5 mm between them and the bricks, otherwise they will destroy the masonry when heated.The doors are fastened either to wire or to tape. They are attached to the wire like this: four pieces of wire are tied to the door (there are special holes in the doors), and then these mustaches are embedded in the masonry. Places for embedding (seams) must be pre-cleaned. If the door wobbles a little after the mortar to be laid has dried, then bend the wire with pliers - as if pulling it. In this way, I fixed the blower door. I did not like this method - the door is not very securely mounted in the masonry.

But the fire door, as a more responsible one, I fastened with a metal tape. I riveted two strips to the door with rivets, which I made from cut nails, and walled up this whole structure in the masonry. It turned out perfect. Therefore, I almost forgot about the basalt sealant, which is placed between the metal of the doors and the bricks. You can immediately close it up, and then you can fill it in a 5 mm gap.

The cooking deck was also installed with side gaps from bricks of 5 mm. It lies with me just under its own weight, but along the perimeter under it there is a basalt sealant in two layers. So that the cooking floor was flush with the plane of the stove, I cut out grooves in the bricks with a grinder along the perimeter of the stove.

This time he did not repair the valve on the pipe and the cleaning doors for soot - he postponed this business until spring. But the general approach is the same.

Ideally, if the oven dries up by itself. This is long enough: it can take a month or two. Drying times will depend on the scale of the repairs performed. Another drying option is gentle heating. In this case, it is important not to overdo it, otherwise the seams will crack. And it worked out for me: the upper two rows of the stove, newly laid out, cracked at the seams, because I hurried and went out ahead of time (5-7 days) to the normal mode of the furnace.

In my case, this is not critical: in the spring I will move the heels of the bricks again, and in some places I will simply rub the cracks. But nevertheless, it is still unpleasant. And one more thing: the criterion that the stove is dry is that there is no condensation (water droplets) on the cleaning doors and on the valves.

A well-built stove in a country house or in a country house can serve for decades, warming up with its warmth, if preventive examinations are carried out in a timely manner, eliminating emerging problems and not postponing their solution until later.

Timely repair of an old furnace with your own hands will significantly extend its service life and save you from additional costs.

This is what the old stove looks like after repair - the brickwork and hob, top and bottom doors have been replaced

To avoid accelerated failure of the furnace, you should familiarize yourself with the rules for its safe operation - this will help to quickly cope with emerging malfunctions.

Like any equipment, the furnace needs periodic inspections, current, medium and major repairs. The complexity of the upcoming repair depends on how serious the internal and external damage is. Due to the special climatic conditions, the stove must be heated most of the year, especially if it is used for cooking. Therefore, the frequency of inspections is an important component of the quality and safe use of the oven.

To prevent the occurrence of fires, fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, it is necessary to repair the old stove in time before the start of the heating season. Before that, conduct a complete examination of all components, carefully checking the condition:

metal flooring in front of the firebox;
base and walls;
furnaces, including the reliability of the lower and upper doors, grate, ash pan;
cooking stove;
chimney;
stove damper used to adjust the draft in the stove and in the chimney;
condition of masonry and masonry seams.

We advise you to read an article about choosing a brick for laying a stove and add the article to your bookmarks.

Video: DIY brick oven repair

Important: The detected faults and blockages should be eliminated before the start of the heating season - this will help to avoid problems during the operation of the stove.

The correct design and operation of the chimney is the cornerstone of the safe operation of the stove. The chimney must be free from accumulations of soot, debris, pieces of crumbling clay and bricks, foreign random objects - this is necessary for the free passage of exhaust air streams containing smoke and other combustion products.

Installation diagram of a stove with a chimney passing through the floor slabs and the roof, with a thermal insulation device

Important: It is recommended to clean the chimney channels at least 2 times a year.

Special tools are used for cleaning:

telescopic (sliding) brushes specially designed for this purpose;
special vacuum cleaners with which you can remove soot, however, vacuum cleaners are ineffective for large blockages;
dry cleaning using liquid or powder products, the application of which to hot surfaces leads to the separation of soot accumulations.

All these chimney cleaning products require some skill, so it is better to entrust such a responsible job to professionals.

Chimney cleaning using a special tool - brushes with a telescopic extension

Attention: The cleanliness of the smoke exhaust system of the stove is especially important for the complete removal of carbon monoxide (CO) from the furnace, which is formed in the event of incomplete combustion of fuel, its presence in the air in an amount of 0.1% CO is fatal to human health.

When checking the technical condition of the chimney, you should pay attention to the quality of the chimney thermal insulation in the places where it passes through the ceiling and roof ceilings - damage to the insulation layers can lead to overheating of the floor material and its fire.

If, during the inspection of the chimney, internal and external cracks, chips, cracking, etc. are found, repair of the chimney channels will be required, which is significantly complicated due to the considerable length and small cross-section of the chimney.

Repair and strengthening of the chimney with external lining with artificial stone

Depending on the volume of destruction, it may be necessary to:

In the dismantling of the chimney with the subsequent restoration of brickwork (with the destruction of more than 20%).
In partial replacement - damaged knocked-out bricks are removed, new ones are laid in a pre-cleaned place, in a mortar (in the proportion: 1 part cement, 0.5 part lime, 2.5 parts sand). For greater strength, additional lining of the chimney can be made (Fig. 4).
In the installation of sleeves in the smoke ducts. This method is the most promising - steel or ceramic pipes (sleeves) installed inside the old chimney are easily cleaned of soot, are not subject to cracking and chips, which greatly facilitates the operation of the chimney.
Internal lining - performed if cracks appear on the surface of the chimney walls.

When inspecting an old furnace, the following defects are most often found:

Damage to seams and cracks in masonry, which are better visible if the oven is preheated. As a result of damaged masonry and large cracks, it is possible for flue gases to enter the room - it will be necessary to seal the cracks (Fig. 5).

Repair of brickwork with preliminary cleaning and subsequent filling of the joints with cement mortar

To restore the normal functioning of the furnace, the seams are pre-soaked with water, cleaned to a depth of 2-3 cm and additionally moistened, after which they should be tightly filled with clay mortar. It is recommended to add table salt to the clay mortar (0.5 kg per bucket of mortar) - this will prevent the joints from cracking. Strengthening the frame of the brickwork can be done by covering it with ceramic refractory tiles.
The appearance of rust on the metal flooring in front of the firebox - the thinned flooring should also be replaced by placing an asbestos sheet under it.
Loosening and loosening of the frame of the firebox door and the blower door, gaps between the hob and the brickwork of the stove, resulting from thermal and mechanical effects. Stove repairs will also be needed here in the places of their contact with the brickwork, which must be cleared by removing the old mortar. After rinsing, heat-resistant glue is applied to the cleaned areas, diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1. An asbestos or ceramic cord must be placed between the brickwork and the frame, the gaps must be completely filled with mortar (Fig. 6).

Installation and strengthening of oven doors using ceramic cord and cement mortar

To secure the hob, it must first be removed - it is easier to do this with a hot stove, prying it with a crowbar or ax (Fig. 7). After that, in the same way as in point 4, prepare the surfaces by sealing the places for laying with basalt felt.

Removing the old hob after preheating the oven

The brick oven is designed for a long service life. But sometimes it can fail for one reason or another. In order to face the problem of serious destruction of a brick oven less often, it is necessary to carry out preventive and repair work on time.

You don't need to call the wizard to fix minor problems. You can solve such issues on your own, having a little skills in construction.

A standard brick oven consists of:

foundations
pre-furnace leaf
ash pan and firebox
grate
chimney and pipes

Attention: experts strongly recommend, before starting the operation period, to conduct a thorough inspection of the brick oven for its performance. Timely preventive and repair work will prevent fires and accidents.

All repairs to a conventional structure are divided into:

Scuffs that have appeared on the pre-furnace sheet. They can lead to serious problems and even fire. To solve the problem, the worn sheet is replaced with a new one. To do this, dismantle the deteriorated metal, protect the flooring with an asbestos sheet and attach a new sheet of metal of the required size on top.
Replacing the grate from the grate.
Lack of traction. If the draft is lost, most likely you are faced with a clogged chimney or lack of air flow. Inspect the chimney once a year for dirt, debris and foreign objects. Chemicals are used to clean the canals.

Chimney cleaning with chemicals

To clean the chimney from soot, you will need to prepare:

Firewood
Sharp-edged trowel
Soot scraper
Clay mortar for masonry
Lime and whitewash plaster

The whole work process is reduced to heating the stove with wood. It is better to use alder or aspen firewood, as they quickly burn out, form good traction, and burn out soot. If you sprinkle the wood with salt, you can remove soot from the chimney and chimney. This procedure is recommended every three months.

Replacing the grate is reduced to:

Taking out old grates

Carrying out repair work on masonry and blowing, if necessary

Laying a new grate, remembering to leave 5 mm gaps

Backfilling gaps with sand or ash

Attention: the new grate from the grate must be exactly the same size as the old one. It must be laid in its original place without using a solution.Renovation of masonry joints is also a medium-sized renovation work. They not only spoil the appearance of the structure, but also let harmful gases into the room. To detect problem areas, it is recommended to heat it. To solve the problem, you must:

Clear seams.

Rinse the walls with water using a brush.

Fill visible cracks and defects in the brickwork with a new clay mortar.

So that after drying the clay does not crack, it is worth adding a little table salt to it. For one bucket of clay, it will be enough to add 300 grams of salt. If the gaps in the masonry are large and deep, they should be sealed with a refractory cord.A loose fireplace door can be reinforced. If you notice that cracks have formed around the doors, and it staggers a lot, it's time to repair it:

We clean the place of repair to a brick and rinse it with water

We prime the surface

We put a sealant in all the cracks

We close it with a solution

To prepare the solution, we need to take:

Fireclay

Heat resistant adhesive

Portland cement

Sand

The prepared composition should be similar in consistency to sour cream.After strengthening the furnace door, after 24 hours, heat the structure with a small amount of firewood.

Complete replacement of the lining

Converting a stove from one type of fuel to another

Repair and re-laying of brickwork

If you need to replace burnt bricks without disassembling the stove, prepare the following materials and tools:

Brick

Hammer

Masonry mortar

Water

Scraper and trowel

Instead of old burnt-out bricks, it is necessary to lay new material, having previously moistened them with water. Next, we apply the solution to the masonry.Attention: the prepared mortar must be thoroughly lubricated with the place of the fallen brick. The new material is placed in its original place, pressed and sealed.It also happens that the refractory brick, from which the masonry is laid, collapses and becomes unusable. In this case, it is necessary to repair it through the fire door. If the damage is small, clay solution will help to cope with them. If only a few bricks are destroyed, it is recommended to replace them by removing the old mortar.To complete the work, you will need to prepare:

Spatula, hammer and chisel

Solution

Water

Refractory brick

The old mortar is removed with a construction tool, this place is wetted with water, and new bricks are laid on top.When repairing the firebox, it is advisable to use the same mortar that was used during the construction. After repairing the firebox, it will be possible to use the stove only after a week. Image - DIY heating stove repair

If you want to restore an old brick stove and return its aesthetic appearance, you should stock up on the following materials:

Heat resistant tiles
Paint
Whitewash or lime

When decorating the stove with tiles, it must be laid on a prepared and flat surface. Be sure to use bas-relief edging and murals. The advantages of this material include:

Ease of care
Presentable appearance
Durability

If you want to paint your oven, look for a material that can withstand temperature extremes. To give the product originality, use a stencil to apply drawings and ornaments with paints.

Whitewashing the oven is the most common option. Add salt to the lime to add a snow-white shine.

Before you start repairing a brick oven, be sure to take care of safety precautions:

To avoid heating and burning wood surfaces, use insulating materials adjacent to the heated part.
Choose consumables carefully. They must be of high quality and free from visible defects.
It is recommended to use greasy clay and heat-resistant glue to prepare the solution.
Place a sheet of steel in front of the vent before starting work.

Summing up, it is worth noting that timely preventive maintenance and repair of minor problems will significantly extend the life of the brick oven.Keep in mind that repair work must be carried out with full responsibility, since not only the performance of the structure and its appearance, but also the safety of your home, depend on this.A brick oven can serve for several decades if you regularly engage in preventive maintenance and promptly eliminate damage and breakdowns. Depending on the complexity of the work, it is customary to subdivide furnace repairs into current, average and major. Minor problems are easy to fix in a few hours, while major problems can take days. To save on stove-maker services and extend the life of the stove, it is recommended to make repairs already in the first years of operation.Professionals strongly recommend that you carefully examine the state of the hearth before the start of each heating season. Timely repair of stoves and fireplaces prevents accidents and fires.Any owner, even if he does not have building skills, can perform minor repairs to a stove in a country house or in a residential building.

The scuffs that appear on the pre-heating sheet make cleaning difficult and can cause a fire. The leaking metal must be removed, the floor covering must be protected with an asbestos sheet and roofing steel of the required size must be nailed on top.

To replace the grate, you need to remove the old part from the oven and clean the area of soot. The new grille must be exactly the same size as the broken one. It is laid in place without mortar, similar to the old grates.

The chimney should be inspected twice a year for foreign objects and debris. It is recommended to use special chemicals to clean the canals from soot.

Leaky seams spoil the appearance of the brickwork and let harmful gases into the room. To detect weak areas, it is recommended to heat the stove - this will make large cracks visible. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to clear the seams by 2-3 cm, having previously soaked with water. Next, the walls are well washed with clean water using a brush.The resulting depressions are filled with new clay mortar, carefully compacting the mixture and rubbing the voids. To increase the resistance of the mortar to cracking, you can add a little table salt to the clay - 300-350 grams per bucket of mortar. It is recommended to seal wide gaps with a fire-resistant cord. If necessary, the walls are plastered and whitewashed or tiled.The gaps formed between the doors and the masonry due to mechanical stress and thermal expansion also begin to let dangerous gases into the room. Do-it-yourself oven repair in this case begins with cleaning the surface and removing the old solution. The cleaned area is washed and primed with heat-resistant glue diluted in the same volume of water.A sealing asbestos or ceramic cord is attached along the perimeter of the door - it protects the clay from cracking, compensating for the differences in thermal expansion of materials. In order not to buy a fake instead of a fire-resistant cord, experienced stove-makers recommend setting fire to the purchase without leaving the checkout. Next, the area around the door is rubbed with repair mortar and left to dry for at least a day.Similarly, the gaps that appear between the hob and the walls are eliminated. To remove the stove, heat the stove a little, then pry the cast iron with a hard metal object, such as an ax. Instead of a cord in this case, you can use basalt wool or felt. If possible, the old stove can be replaced with a more modern one.Medium-level malfunctions will also not be difficult to eliminate without the involvement of experts. This approach will help save money on the services of a stove-maker.Over time, the refractory brick from which the firebox is made collapses and requires attention. Do-it-yourself repair of the furnace firebox is carried out through the furnace door.In case of minor damage, the destroyed areas are restored using clay mortar or factory-made masonry refractory mixture. If several bricks are damaged, a partial replacement can be dispensed with. To do this, soak and clean the solution in the right place and remove the damaged element. New bricks are carefully inserted into the voids and carefully covered over. It is advisable to take the same composition that was used during construction.It is not always possible to completely replace the lining through the furnace hole; in some cases it is necessary to disassemble the wall. If the top of the stove is covered by a hob, it is easier to get to the top of the combustion chamber. The new lining is made of fireclay bricks, not forgetting that the refractory material should not be tied up with the one from which the furnace body is folded. In large ovens, bricks are laid flat, in small and medium-sized ones - on the edge.A new cast-iron door must have the same parameters as a broken one. In order not to be mistaken, you must measure the width and length of the product before purchasing. The old door is dismantled together with the frame, clearing the masonry as much as possible in the right places. So that the masonry mortar can be easily and quickly removed, it is soaked with water. Just in case, you need to stock up on a few bricks - they will be needed if unforeseen destruction occurs during dismantling or unusable bricks are found. Steel legs are attached to the new cast-iron door and set so that the strips are in the masonry seams. An asbestos or ceramic cord must be placed between the masonry and the frame. The gaps are filled with a solution, carefully eliminating all the cracks.Major renovations are rarely complete without replacing damaged bricks. Most often, the problem occurs above the fire door. The damaged elements are carefully removed from the structure, after soaking the solution, and the resulting "window" is cleaned from the remnants of clay. The new brick is immersed in water for a few minutes and placed on a refractory mortar, after which possible gaps are filled and the seams are rubbed. When repairing a sauna stove, it is recommended to seal large gaps with a mortar with the addition of brick chips made from refractory bricks. The repair of the Russian stove in many cases consists in the restoration of a destroyed or sagging vault. As a rule, to eliminate the destruction, it is required to make a new circle and move the brick in this area. The second vulnerable spot of the Russian stove is underneath, here the burnt-out bricks can be easily removed and replaced with new ones.For those who do not feel the strength to repair a brick oven with their own hands, we do not recommend taking up work. In this case, as well as if a complex chimney repair is necessary, it is better to immediately seek professional help from experienced stove-makers.Describe your question in as much detail as possible and our expert will answer it Image - DIY heating stove repair

weak or no draft, slow combustion of fuel, penetration of smoke into the room in the case of an open firebox door, as well as in the wind;
the appearance of dark spots on the outer surface of the smoke channel due to excessive moisture;
loosening and detaching the doors of the fuel combustion device and other furnace components;
rapid heat loss after completion of the combustion process;
weak or excessive heating of surfaces and their areas;
cracks in the masonry that cannot be repaired;
installation of stove appliances of inappropriate dimensions, various irregularities inside the smoke ducts.

The main thing is to start repairing the stove on time, without putting yourself and your loved ones at risk. Only a working device can guarantee both fire and sanitary safety. The nature and complexity of the work determine the scale of the repair, which can be current, medium or major.

Weak draft or its absence can arise, for example, due to the accumulation of a large amount of cold air in the chimney during a long break in the operation of the stove. However, there are other reasons: obstruction of the canal (clogged with soot), squally wind outside, there is no access to air, the flow of which could support combustion.

In this case, you need to light the fire not with paper, but with a dry substance, for example, a piece of rubber. In this case, fuel (kerosene, etc.) should not be used.

If more than a year has passed since the moment the soot was "burnt out" in the chimney, most likely it will be clogged. To eliminate this problem, you need to act as follows: first try to get rid of the soot by pouring a little coarse salt into the burning stove and immediately closing the shutter. Burning down, the layer of soot begins to crack strongly, pieces of it fly out of the chimney. If this method turns out to be ineffective, you will have to apply manual cleaning. There is a special door for this.

One of the signs that cracks have formed in the brickwork is the strong smoke from the stove. In this case, the seams must be sealed with a clay-sand mixture, adding salt and crushed asbestos fiber to the solution. The last ingredient is used for elasticity. In terms of consistency, the mixture should turn out to be not very viscous, but not liquid either: after drying, a too greasy solution will crack, and a thin one will not provide the required strength, which will lead to the destruction of the masonry. To save time, you can purchase a ready-made mixture in a specialized store. An instruction is attached to it, following which you can quickly and easily dilute the solution and perform all the necessary work.

Another problem is the need to replace the old, burnt-out brick with a new one. To do this, the surface must first be prepared: remove dust and clay, moisten, then put a clay cake there. A new one is put in place of the burned-out brick, after immersing it in water and applying the prepared mixture to it both from above and on the sides to fix the seams. It is necessary to use the same mortar as for filling the cracks.

Before proceeding with the sealing of the joints, they need to be prepared: remove the residual clay, rinse thoroughly with water using a brush, then prime with heat-resistant glue (a 50% solution is suitable). When grouting the joints, make sure that the repair mixture fills the joints to the end, leaving no voids. If too large a gap has formed in the masonry, in addition to the mixture, a ceramic cord must also be placed in it. Due to its physical properties, it not only withstands open fire, but also very high temperatures - over 1000 degrees.Ceramic cord is often counterfeited, therefore, before purchasing it, you need to bring a lighted match or lighter to it in order to evaluate the heat resistance of the product. The cord is placed in the seams of the masonry along the perimeter of the cast-iron plate, using heat-resistant glue for fixing.To protect the elements of the stove that do not need to be repaired, they must be covered with masking tape.If it is necessary to replace the grates in the oven, an expansion joint with a thickness of 5 mm must be made between them and the brickwork.If the firebox door falls out, it can be secured using steel wire. However, you first need to disassemble the brickwork around the sash.Pre-furnace plates, as a rule, cannot be repaired: perforated and rusty elements are simply replaced with new ones. In this case, the old product is removed, the nails are removed, then a felt soaked in liquid clay is placed on the bottom, and a new sheet is placed and nailed on top.If there is a need to replace the lining, the same brick is taken for the new brickwork that was used for the old one. The thermal expansion coefficient must remain the same. Image - DIY heating stove repair

In case of damage to the firebox lining or hearth, more serious work will be required.As noted earlier, it is necessary to maintain the same coefficient of thermal expansion, therefore, the homogeneity of the selected material, namely brick, is extremely important.

These types of work include the following: replacement or repair of faulty elements, as well as the return of the furnace once lost performance. Many people think that such a reconstruction can only be done by an experienced stove-maker. However, this opinion is erroneous: any home craftsman can do this kind of work.

If it is necessary to replace the lining, experts advise against touching the main masonry. The wall of the stove must be dismantled from the bottom of the ash pan to the height of the firebox, without affecting the ribs, then cleaned of rubble after disassembling the old lining and lay out a new one without fastening it to the masonry of the walls. The thickness of the seams should not exceed 2 mm.

The upcoming transition of the stove to another type of fuel is a serious task, and each stove-maker solves it in his own way. As an example - one of the methods. First you need to lay out the walls of the firebox using fire-resistant bricks. In this case, it is required to use a solution that can withstand high temperatures and open fire. The sides of the firebox must be equipped with small slopes so that at the moment of heating the coal falls down, closing the grate. In this case, it is important to use only high-quality bricks.

Repair of a sauna stove is carried out in the same way as the restoration of a conventional heater. The only difference is in preventive measures that need to be carried out more often. This is due to the higher temperature regime of the bath device. In this case, special attention should be paid to both the fire resistance of the brick and mortar. If the tile is broken, it is forbidden to use such a stove until it is replaced with a new one.

If an external examination of the rear wall of the structure does not reveal serious damage, then the device is suitable to become a frame for repair work.

When inspecting the oven, the following facts may come to light:

The device does not have an additional blower, the so-called summer, which enhances the furnace draft when it is fired up.
Changing the location of the blower: instead of the lower part of the firebox (under the door), it is placed on the side of the end of the furnace.

In addition, there may be no additional hood above the hob, and the heating of the room is less on the side where another wall is located. These errors also need to be corrected.

The second minus is the location of the view relative to the upward-going smoke channel. From an ergonomic point of view, this valve cannot be positioned horizontally all the time. This leads to the disruption of her work or, as the stove-makers aptly put it, to “the tears of the stove”. The fact is that in winter, especially during frosts, a lot of condensate accumulates in the equipment, which, mixing with soot, turns into a solution of carbonic acid of high concentration, which leads to the gradual destruction of the masonry.

So, thanks to an external examination, it was possible to identify problem areas that need to be worked on. After that, you can start repairing the brick oven with your own hands.

First, it is necessary to dismantle the firebox, in the design of which there are serious errors. It is important to consider that when working in a residential building, you need to remove or cover objects with a layer of polyethylene. After dismantling the slab, it became clear that about 80% of the bricks were unusable.The chimney cleaning duct is located at the bottom, and the smoke extraction duct is at the top. During the work, it is necessary to place the firebox so that the pipe is not located on the side, but is directed towards the device for burning fuel. Image - DIY heating stove repair

The next step is to remove the chimney door located at the bottom of the oven. The chimney hoods must be cleaned.

It is required to get rid of the casing - blocking the channel in the upper part of the furnace. The task of the foreman in this case is to reduce the number of pipe bends. Their cleaning is impossible due to the lack of a hatch.The deterioration of such a place is associated with a large amount of soot, which accumulates in the chimney channel, and hardens over time. The impossibility of the cleaning process only exacerbates the situation. The opened canal casing resembles a blood vessel clogged with cholesterol. The smoke outlet is provided only by a narrow gap, as a result of which it rises high above the firebox. It is necessary to dismantle the casing in such a way that the old masonry falls on the joint with the new one.

To remove the furnace view, it is required to disassemble the masonry located above the casing.

Having completed the dismantling of all elements that need repair or replacement, you can proceed to the construction of the firebox. The scheme here is simple: the first row is the base of the furnace, then the ash pan and the parallel channel of the additional blower. Further, the work is no different from the construction of a conventional furnace.

On the right side, there is an ash pan, which will create additional thrust at the beginning of the combustion process, and on the left side, a blower with an ash pan and a combustion chamber system are located.

In order to raise the stove with a hob, you will need to lay out 11 rows. When performing the top level, you will need to apply a bonded masonry. This will make it possible to place a hob and decorative tiles on it in the future. It is necessary to wait for the mortar to dry, then continue the reconstruction of the oven.

The next stage is the laying of the casing of the heating device. The first row should be strapping: this will create a base for the chimney. The next two levels will remain hollow due to the joint between the pipe and the previous oven channel. Next are the chimney piping and the fifth row masonry - the control one. Its function is to provide the combustion products with one more obstacle on the way to the premises.

It should be emphasized that a fire-resistant basalt cord with a diameter of 4 mm is used during installation. This helps to reduce the formation of condensation, and when it drains, it will fall into a separate cleaning hole located at the bottom of the oven.

A wedge lock is used to close the rows above the blower and combustion chamber. Its main advantages are a high degree of reliability and the ability to abandon the use of metal corners, which, during the operation of the furnace, lead to its destruction, causing a large linear expansion.