Yes, and it is one of the more popular projects we do. An outdoor masonry fireplace needs its own footing sized for the weight, a properly built firebox in firebrick, and a chimney tall enough to draw reliably and clear of anything combustible nearby. Building it at the same time as a patio is meaningfully better and usually cheaper: base work and material deliveries are shared, and the fireplace can be integrated into the patio and any seat walls as continuous masonry rather than looking dropped onto a finished surface.

Usually a proportion or draw problem rather than a masonry defect. The firebox opening, the throat above it, and the flue area have to relate to each other within a fairly narrow range, and if the opening is too large for the flue, smoke spills into the room instead of going up. Other common causes are a chimney too short for the roofline, a blocked or partially collapsed flue, a damper not opening fully, and negative pressure in a tightly sealed house pulling air down the chimney. Diagnosing which one you have comes before any repair.

Yes. The firebox interior is built from firebrick set in refractory mortar, both of which are made to withstand direct flame and repeated heat cycling. Ordinary brick and standard mortar degrade under that exposure: the mortar crumbles out of the joints and the gaps that open let heat reach the structure behind the firebox. This is why a firebox rebuilt by someone treating it as normal brickwork is a genuine hazard rather than merely poor workmanship, and it is worth asking specifically about materials before agreeing to the work.

Frequently, yes. A fireplace with a sound structure and chimney but a deteriorated firebox, crumbling hearth, or tired surround is a restoration job — the firebox gets rebuilt in firebrick, joints repointed, and the surround and hearth repaired or rebuilt in matched material. What pushes it toward full rebuild is structural movement in the chimney or firebox walls, or a flue that has collapsed. We assess the firebox, the throat, and the chimney together, since repairing one while another is failing does not get you a usable fireplace.

For a wood-burning fireplace, yes — and the two trades cover different things. We handle the masonry: firebox, surround, hearth, chimney structure, crown, and flashing. Creosote buildup in the flue and the condition of the flue liner are a sweep's territory, and creosote is a chimney-fire risk that masonry work does not address. If you are having firebox work done, having the flue swept and inspected around the same time is sensible, since both matter before the fireplace goes back into regular use.

K&S Masonry Restoration is based in Brookhaven, PA and works throughout Delaware County and the Philadelphia suburbs, including Philadelphia, Havertown, Springfield, Drexel Hill, Chester, Wayne, Radnor, and Ardmore, plus Montgomery and Chester Counties. If you are unsure whether your address is in range, call (610) 990-1379 and ask — it is a quick answer.