Do-it-yourself furnace repair in a private house

In detail: do-it-yourself furnace repair in a private house from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

We bought a house in the village with a stone oven, which turned out to be in a rather bad condition. I didn’t have any experience in this matter at all, so I didn’t immediately notice that it was “defective”. She was whitewashed and seemed quite decent. I was afraid to take on 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 self-confidence. Therefore, I began to study on my own - everything worked out for me, and even not 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 that need to be done in the spring, but it is already working, and working well. So do not be afraid and boldly take on the independent repair of a brick oven: I think you will succeed too. And now useful information from my experience on how to repair a brick oven with your own hands both in the country and in a private house.

Brick. On the construction market, I bought a brick from the Tula brick factory, which was called “kiln brick”. Professionals say that, in fact, there is no special oven brick - any building ceramic brick of any brand will do, even M-75 - the main thing is that it should be without cracks. But by the way, I really liked the brick that I bought - even, without cracks, much better than ordinary building bricks. It cost 15 rubles apiece, and I took as many as 100 pieces. In some stores they are even sold 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 fireclay bricks for 49 rubles apiece. Fireclay bricks can withstand very high temperatures, as much as 1800 degrees. I wanted to line the furnace with them, but then it turned out that this would not work. So this expensive brick is lying and waiting in the wings - it will come in handy for a new furnace.

Video (click to play).

Furnace casting. These are valves, furnace and blower doors, cleaning doors, and a cooking floor. The leader in quality is the so-called Rubtsovsk casting (Litkom Plant). There is also a supplier from Balezino, but the quality seems to be worse there. I took the Rubtsov furnace door, and the blower door, as less responsible, I bought the Balezin one. For all together gave 1500 rubles. I did not consider imported casting: it is, of course, much better, but it also costs decently: I considered that it was not advisable to buy it. I didn’t buy a cooking floor (stove): I decided to use the old one until spring - split. I didn’t buy a grate either - I used the one that was in the old furnace. By the way, he's homemade. Repairing a brick oven with my own hands has not yet included the replacement of valves and cleaning doors, so I did not buy them. I will be doing this in the spring.

Basalt cardboard BVTM used for sealing when installing metal parts: cooking floor, door. I bought two sheets 5 mm thick for 156 rubles apiece. This was quite enough and even left, 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 will talk about this in more detail a little later. I found the wire in the garage, and bought the tape in the store (gave 500 rubles for 20 meters) - such as in the photo.

Drill with a nozzle "mixer" - used to prepare the solution.
Brush (nozzle on a drill) - used to clean bricks from soot and old mortar in some places.
Bulgarian + 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 necessary to cut the metal: either a corner of some kind of furnace sticks out - I cut it off completely, then I cut the grate. The photo shows an example of using a grinder when working with bricks. This is a castle brick, which is placed above the furnace door.

Building level - it is clear why.
square - it is better if it is long, I had a short one. I mainly used it to mark the brick.
Roulette - for measurements of any.
Marker - they marked out a brick. I took the marker from my daughters from the drawing sets and will not return it, because it has worn out into the trash.
Trowel, spatula - used to work with a solution. I mainly used a spatula with a width of 70 mm, it seemed to me that it was more convenient for them to work than with a trowel.
Wood saw (old) - used to cut a brick from the oven along the seam. An irreplaceable thing. Sometimes it was required to take something smaller, then I used a sheet for metal.
Hammer - used to carefully fix a freshly laid brick. Well 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 you need to repair non-critical cracks, then, of course, it is not necessary to disassemble the furnace. We melt it - the seams expand. Then we carefully clean the old mortar until we clean the brick well at the crack site. It is convenient to work with a sheet for metal.
If you need to replace a cracked brick, then an old hacksaw for wood comes to the rescue for cutting bricks from masonry along the seam. Then we carefully remove the brick and clean the bricks in the masonry, preparing them for mortar.
If most of the furnace is in critical condition, then you have to take out a lot of bricks. It's very dusty. I didn’t think of isolating the stove from the room with a film, and my whole house was covered with a layer of dust. Bricks are removed until we reach those that hold tight. But turn on your head, otherwise you can generally disassemble the entire furnace. The fact is that some bricks that stagger 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, what my firebox looked like. It had to be taken apart and rebuilt. I took out about a little over 100 bricks from the whole 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 and “mint” the seam with a trowel - we seal it with the edge of the trowel until the metal practically stops penetrating into solution.

Do-it-yourself brick oven repair is very often a firebox repair. First of all, I took out all the burned-out 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 the carrier 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 half a brick to the side and laid out a completely new firebox wall. There is nothing particularly difficult in the masonry itself - just do everything carefully, take your time and try to ensure that all the bricks are bandaged. Under the grate, I cut out the bricks with a grinder so that it lay 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 advise to fill these free gaps with sand, but I did not - they themselves will be filled with ashes.

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. Fasten the doors either on a wire or on a tape. They are attached to the wire as follows: four pieces of wire are wound to the door (there are special holes in the doors), and then these mustaches are embedded in the masonry. Places for sealing (seams) are 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. I fixed the blower door in this way. I did not like this method - the door is not very securely mounted in the masonry.

But the furnace door, as more responsible, I fastened with a metal tape. I riveted two strips to the door with rivets, which I made from cut nails, and immured this whole structure into 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 close it right away, or you can then stuff it into a 5 mm gap.

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

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

Ideally, if the oven dries itself. This is quite a long time: it can take a month or two. Drying time will depend on the extent of the repair. Another drying option is gentle heating. In this case, it is important not to overdo it, otherwise the seams will crack. And so it happened for me: the top two rows of the slab, newly laid out, cracked at the seams, because I was in a hurry and went ahead of the set time (5-7 days) to the normal mode of the firebox.

In my case, this is not critical: in the spring I will lay five bricks anew, and in some places I will simply close up the cracks. But nevertheless, it's still annoying. And one more thing: the criterion that the oven is dry is that there is no condensate (water droplets) on the cleaning doors and on the valves.

weak draft or its absence, 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 detachment of the doors of the device for burning fuel and other furnace components;
rapid heat loss after the completion of the combustion process;
weak or excessive heating of surfaces and their sections;
cracks in the masonry that cannot be repaired;
installation of stove appliances of inappropriate sizes, various irregularities inside the smoke channels.

The main thing is to start repairing the furnace in time, without putting yourself and loved ones at risk. Only a serviceable 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 capital.

Weak draft or its absence can occur, 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 furnace. However, there are other reasons: the obstruction of the channel (clogged with soot), squally wind on the street, there is no access to air, the flow of which could support combustion.

In this case, you need to kindle a 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 soot was “spitted out” in the chimney, most likely it will be clogged.To eliminate this problem, you need to proceed as follows: first try to get rid of soot by pouring a little coarse salt into the burning stove and immediately closing the barrier. When burning, the layer of soot begins to crack strongly, its pieces fly out of the chimney. If this method was 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 smoking of 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. The consistency of the mixture should not be very viscous, but not liquid either: after drying, a too greasy solution will crack, and a thin one will not provide the desired strength, which will lead to the destruction of the masonry. To save time, you can purchase a ready-made mixture in a specialized store. Instructions are 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, burned-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, having previously immersed it in water and applied the prepared mixture on it both on top and on the sides to secure the seams. It is necessary to use the same solution as when sealing cracks.

Before proceeding with the sealing of the joints, they need to be prepared: remove residual clay, rinse thoroughly with water using a brush, then prime with heat-resistant glue (a 50% solution will do). When grouting 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.

A ceramic cord is often faked, so before purchasing it, you need to bring a lit match or lighter to it in order to assess the heat resistance of the product. The cord is placed in the seams of the masonry along the perimeter of the landing of the cast-iron slab, using heat-resistant glue for fixing.

To protect elements of the oven that do not need repair, they must be covered with masking tape.

If it is required to replace the grate in the furnace, an expansion joint 5 mm thick must be made between them and the brickwork.

If the firebox door falls out, it can be fixed using steel wire. However, first you need to disassemble the brickwork around the sash.

Pre-furnace sheets, 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 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 masonry that was used for the old one. The thermal expansion coefficient must remain the same.

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

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

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

The forthcoming transition of the furnace to another type of fuel is a serious task, and each stove-maker solves it in his own way. As an example, here is 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 flames. The sides of the firebox must be equipped with small slopes so that at the moment of burning 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 difference is only 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 bricks and mortar. If the tile is broken, it is forbidden to use such an oven until it is replaced with a new one.

If no serious damage was found during an external examination of the rear wall of the structure, then the device is suitable to become a frame for repair work.

When inspecting the furnace, the following facts may be found:

The device does not have an additional blower, the so-called letnik, which enhances stove draft when it is kindled.
Changing the location of the blower: instead of the lower part of the furnace (under the door), it is located 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 smoke channel going up. From an ergonomic point of view, this valve cannot always be horizontal. This leads to a disruption in its work or, as the stove-makers aptly put it, to “furnace tears”. The fact is that in winter, especially during frosts, a lot of condensate accumulates in the equipment, which, mixing with soot, turns into a high concentration of carbonic acid solution, which leads to the gradual destruction of the masonry.

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

First you need 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 channel is located at the bottom, and the smoke extraction channel is located at the top. During 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 - Do-it-yourself oven repair in a private house

The next step is to remove the pipe door located at the bottom of the oven. Chimney flues must be cleaned.

It is required to get rid of the casing - the overlap of the channel in the upper part of the furnace. The task of the master 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 that accumulates in the chimney channel, and hardens over time. The impossibility of the cleaning process only exacerbates the situation. The opened casing of the canal resembles a blood vessel clogged with cholesterol. Smoke output 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 at the junction with the new one.

To remove the view of the furnace, it is necessary 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 a flyer, which will create additional traction at the beginning of the combustion process, and on the left side there is a blower with an ash pan and a combustion chamber system.

In order to raise the oven with the hob, you will need to lay out 11 rows. When performing the upper level, it will be necessary to apply bonded masonry. This will make it possible to place a hob and decorative tiles on it in the future. It is necessary to wait until the solution dries, then continue the reconstruction of the furnace.

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 junction of the pipe with the former furnace channel. Next come the piping of the chimney and the laying of the fifth row - the control one. Its function is to provide combustion products with another barrier on the way to the room.

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

To block the rows above the blower and the combustion chamber, a wedge lock is used. 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.

In general, repairing a brick oven is a very real task.

A brick oven can serve for several decades if you regularly engage in preventive maintenance and timely eliminate damage and breakdowns. Depending on the complexity of the work, it is customary to subdivide the furnace repair into current, medium and capital. Minor problems can be easily fixed in a few hours, while major problems can take days. To save on the services of the stove-maker and extend the life of the stove, repairs are recommended to be done already in the first years of operation.Professionals strongly recommends carefully inspecting the condition of the hearth before the start of each heating season. Timely repair of stoves and fireplaces prevents accidents and fires.Minor repairs to the stove in the country or in a residential building can be performed by any owner, even if he does not have skills in construction.

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

To replace the grate, it is necessary to remove the old part from the furnace and clean the area from soot. The new grate must be exactly the same size as the failed one. It is laid in place without mortar, similar to the old grate.

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

Leaky seams spoil the appearance of brickwork and let harmful gases into the room. To detect weak areas, it is recommended to heat the furnace - this is how large cracks will become noticeable. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to clear the seams by 2-3 cm, after soaking with water. Next, the walls are well washed with clean water using a brush.The resulting recesses are filled with a new clay mortar, carefully compacting the mixture and overwriting the voids.To increase the resistance of the solution to cracking, you can add a little table salt to the clay - 300-350 grams per bucket of solution. Wide gaps are recommended to be sealed with refractory 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 furnace 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 around the perimeter of the door - it protects the clay from cracking, compensating for differences in the 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 cash register. Next, the area around the door is overwritten with a repair solution 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, the stove should be heated a little, and then pry off 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.Malfunctions of the middle level will also not be difficult to eliminate without the involvement of masters. This approach will help save 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 furnace is carried out through the furnace door. In case of minor damage, the destroyed areas are restored with 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 clear the solution in the right place and remove the damaged element. New bricks are carefully inserted into the voids and carefully covered. 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 oven is covered by a hob, then it is easier to get to the furnace compartment from above. 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 made. In large kilns, the brick is laid flat, in small and medium kilns, on edge.The new cast-iron door should have the same parameters as the worn-out one. In order not to be mistaken, before buying it is necessary to measure the width and length of the product. The old door is dismantled along 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 paws are attached to the new cast-iron door and set so that the strips are in the masonry joints. An asbestos or ceramic cord must be laid between the masonry and the frame. The gaps are filled with a solution, carefully eliminating all the cracks.Major repairs are rarely complete without replacing damaged bricks. Most often, the problem occurs above the furnace door. Damaged elements are carefully removed from the structure, having previously soaked the solution, and the resulting “window” is cleaned of clay residues. A new brick is dipped into water for several minutes and placed on a refractory mortar, after which possible gaps are filled and the seams are overwritten. When repairing a sauna stove, large gaps are recommended to be sealed with a mortar with the addition of brick chips made from refractory bricks.Repair of a Russian stove in many cases consists in restoring a destroyed or sagging vault. As a rule, to eliminate the destruction, it is required to make a new circle and shift the brick in this area. The second weak point of the Russian stove is under, here burnt bricks are easy to remove and replace with new ones.For those who do not feel the strength to carry out the repair of a brick oven with their own hands, we do not recommend taking on the job. In this case, as well as if a complex repair of the chimney 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 - Do-it-yourself oven repair in a private house

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

Read also: DIY Toyota Surf 130 repair

Do-it-yourself 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 the hob, the upper and lower doors have been replaced

To avoid an accelerated failure of the furnace, you should familiarize yourself with the rules for its safe operation - this will help you 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, it is necessary to heat the stove for most of the year, especially if you use it 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;
bases and walls;
furnaces, including the reliability of the lower and upper doors, grate, ash tray;
hob;
chimney;
furnace damper used to adjust the draft in the furnace and in the chimney;
state of masonry and masonry joints.

We advise you to read the article about the choice of bricks for laying the furnace and add the article to your bookmarks.

Video: do-it-yourself brick oven repair

Important: Detected malfunctions 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 basis of the safety of the furnace is the correct design and operation of the chimney. The chimney must be freed from accumulations of soot, debris, pieces of crumbled clay and bricks, foreign random objects - this is necessary for the free passage of exhaust air flows containing smoke and other combustion products.

Scheme of installation of a stove with a chimney passing through the floors of the floor and the roof, with a thermal insulation device

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

For cleaning, special tools are used:

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

All these chimney cleaners require some skill, so it is better to entrust such responsible work to professionals.

Cleaning the chimney using a special tool - brushes with a telescopic extension

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

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

If during the inspection of the chimney one finds internal and external cracks, chips, cracking, etc., it will be necessary to repair the smoke channels, which is much more complicated due to the considerable length and small cross section of the chimney.

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

Depending on the extent of damage, it may be necessary to:

In the dismantling of the chimney with the subsequent restoration of brickwork (in case of destruction of more than 20%).
In partial replacement - damaged knockout bricks are removed, new ones are laid on the previously cleaned place, on the mortar (in the proportion: 1 part of cement, 0.5 parts of lime, 2.5 parts of sand). For greater strength, you can perform additional lining of the chimney (Fig. 4).
In the installation of sleeves in smoke channels. 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 chipping, which greatly facilitates the operation of the chimney.
Internal lining - performed in case of cracks on the surface of the walls of the chimney.

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

Damaged seams and cracks in the brickwork, which are more visible if the stove is fired first. As a result of broken masonry and large cracks, flue gases may enter the room - crack sealing will be required (Fig. 5).

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

To restore the normal functioning of the firebox, the seams are pre-soaked with water, cleared to a depth of 2-3 cm and additionally wetted, after which they should be densely filled with clay mortar. It is recommended to add table salt to the clay mortar (0.5 kg per bucket of mortar) - this will protect the seams from cracking. Strengthening the frame of brickwork can be done by overlaying 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 laying an asbestos sheet under it.
Weakening and loosening of the frame of the furnace door and the blower door, gaps between the hob and the brickwork of the furnace, resulting from thermal and mechanical effects. Here, too, furnace repairs will be needed at the points of their contact with brickwork, which must be cleared by removing the old mortar. After rinsing, a heat-resistant adhesive diluted 1:1 with water is applied to the cleaned areas. An asbestos or ceramic cord must be laid 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 fix the hob, it must first be removed - it is easier to do this when the stove is heated, prying it with a crowbar or an ax (Fig. 7). After that, in the same way as in paragraph 4, prepare the surfaces by sealing the places for laying with basalt felt.

Removing the old hob after preheating the oven

Due to regular temperature fluctuations of large amplitude, the operation of the furnace sooner or later fails. Any owner with his own hands can repair a brick oven, having initial technical knowledge and skillful hands.

The main thing is to do it in a timely manner, then you will avoid troubles and fires.

Usually repairs divided into three types:

troubleshooting
medium troubleshooting
elimination of serious defects (overhaul).

We advise you to remember that regular oven inspection before the heating season and maintenance is a way to prevent possible serious damage to the structure in the future.

What are the minor problems you may encounter when operating the oven and how to eliminate them?

This problem may occur due to the following reasons:

the stove has not been used for a long time, and cold air has accumulated inside the chimney;
there is no air flow to support combustion;
exposure to strong wind from the street;
soot clogged the chimneys.

Solution: we kindle the stove not with paper, but with a piece of rubber or dry fuel.

Attention! The use of kerosene or other flammable liquids is prohibited.

In the event of a blocked chimney, the following activities need to be carried out:

fire up the oven;
pour coarse salt into the furnace (about a handful);
close the damper immediately;
pieces of soot will fly into the chimney pipe.

If this method does not help, then you need to clean the pipe yourselfby opening a special door, or taking out knockout bricks. Experienced oven makers will always leave doors or knockout bricks for cleaning.

To determine, where are these bricks located?, do the following:

make an external inspection of the furnace; especially in places of passage of smoke channels;
knockout brick is usually slightly outward, unlike the main masonry;
clean the old mortar and remove the brick. So the smoke channel will become available, and you can clean it;
then put back the knockout brick and coat it with clay mortar.

causing the stove to smoke.

In addition, her appearance is spoiled.

Fire up the oven and you will notice cracks that need to be covered by hand.

Sequencing:

soak the seams, and then clear them 2 - 3 cm;
scrub the walls with a brush using clean water;
prepare a solution by mixing clay, sand, asbestos fiber and salt (at the rate of 100 grams per 3 liters of the mixture); the indicator of a quality solution is the average viscosity. You can purchase a ready-made solution at a hardware store;
fill the seams with a clay mixture, seal it, wiping all the voids;
if necessary, plaster the walls, whitewash or tile.

It needs to be replaced with a new one.

Sequencing:

clean the clay and dust from the place where the old brick lay;
moisten the place with water and put a clay cake on it;
wet a new brick, coat its top and sides with a clay mixture (we prepare it in advance in the same way as for covering cracks);
lay it in place of the damaged old brick.

Sometimes, if the furnace is damaged to a moderate degree, it is impossible to do without self-repair and strengthening of some parts.

Mechanical loads and temperature fluctuations can cause cracks to form around the firebox door or hob. As a result, dangerous gases penetrate outside.

These places need to be sealed.

Sequencing:

clean the surface, remove the old solution;
rinse and prime it with heat-resistant glue diluted with the same volume of liquid;
fasten an asbestos or ceramic cord around the door or hob to prevent the clay from cracking.
wipe the necessary areas with a repair mixture;
dry for at least a day.

Advice: in order to check if the fire-resistant cord has been tampered with, set fire to it right at the checkout.

You can eliminate the gaps around the hob using the same algorithm. Before removing the stove, heat the oven. Then pry off the metal with an axe. Asbestos cord can be replaced with basalt wool or felt. If the old stove is completely leaky, replace it with a new one.

This becomes necessary if cracks and cracks are located all around the oven. In this case, it is best to shift the masonry, but if there is not enough time, you can resort to screeding the frame with a metal wire.

Sequencing:

we grind special channels in the furnace with a depth of 15 to 20 millimeters strictly horizontally;
we lay wire in the strobes so that it provides a frame screed;
we stretch the wire, twisting it with a beard or a thick nail so that it does not break;
we plaster the oven.

When replacing the grate, please note that there must be a gap between the masonry and the grate. It must be covered with sand. The new grate should be exactly the same size as the old one.

This manipulation should be performed only when the sheets are perforated or rusted. Sequencing:

removal of the old sheet;
extraction of nails;
laying a piece of felt that was previously soaked in a clay solution;
nailing a new sheet.

Sometimes damage to a brick oven is so serious that it is necessary to restore its full working capacity, replace or improve broken parts.

Lining is nothing more than protecting the furnace surface from various mechanical and thermal damage. In our case, this is the use of fireclay bricks.

If the firebox lining is damaged, it must be replaced.

Important! For old and new masonry, use a homogeneous brick so that the coefficient of thermal expansion does not change.

Simple work can be done through the firebox door. To do this, it is enough to restore the damaged areas with a clay mortar or a factory refractory mixture.

Partial replacement of bricks is carried out in the following sequence:

prepare the solution that was used during construction;
soak and clean the old mortar in the required area;
remove the element that was damaged;
insert a new brick into an empty place and cover it well.

For these manipulations, a ready-made refractory solution can also be used - Fireclay Mortar, which consists of fireclay and refractory clay. Then the seams of the furnace will be able to withstand more than 1700 degrees.

Complete replacement of the lining is carried out only after the wall has been dismantled. The main masonry must not be affected.

Sequencing:

disassemble the wall from the hearth to the ash hole; do not touch the stove ribs;
remove the remains of rubble;
lay out a new lining of fireclay bricks so that it does not bind with the material of the stove body. Observe the thickness of the seam - no more than two millimeters.
if the oven is large, lay the brick flat. If small or medium - on the edge.

This may require plastering the masonry or even busting it in case of destruction.

The basic method is to line the walls of the firebox with fireclay bricks using a refractory mortar. Install slopes on the sides of the firebox. On them, hot coals will fall down during the combustion process and close the grate.

It is important to use only high-quality bricks.

Repair tools are best prepared in advance.

You will need: