Expert: James Ball - 11/23/2010

Question
We have an 8 yr old fireplace, wood burning, that is line on the inside with what appear to be tile plates - one on the right, the other on the left, the rear of the fireplace and floor appear to be some sort of stone (you can tell I'm an expert here!)  The tiled sides are separating where once glued or epoxied.  How do I repair ? Is it safe to have a fire ?   The separation starts at the topmost of each tile plate with the largest gap being approx 1/4 inch.

Answer
Hello Mark, there should be a bracket that holds the panels in on top, you can not repair them and they should be replaced, I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep www.csia.org, (there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James