Another current photo

And here is how it looked before.

It looks the "after" is the "before"--and vice versa; yikes! Why, though, would the chimney need to be torn down to re-do the firebox?

Get him back and tell him to do it again.

Never saw the post on your floors, but there is no reason to ever accept shoddy work.

You and your check book are driving the bus. Get what you are paying for and never, ever settle.

Thanks. Actually the chimney was the problem - it was detaching and needed to be redone, so the fireplace also had to be redone in the process. Yes, the last photo is the before. I just don't even know what to do - we have paid most of the bill already. I never expected this.

They are trying to tell me that it's fine. But it's not. The situation is very hard - especially because they have my money.

Does somebody inspect fire boxes for safety issues? If so, get them in there to do that. If not get a second opinion. If it is in fact safe and it's the appearance you object to, once you've had a couple fires it's going to blacken up and you won't even notice it.

Get an inspector out to check this out and then you will have some leverage and BTW why would you pay most of the bill before work was approved

I used this person before for my deck and it came out great - so I trusted him. But I get that masonry is very different, and he himself wasn't doing the masonry. I'm sure that the fireplace is structurally okay, it's just ugly. Not sure an inspector would care about that.

It's a sloppy job. If they say they won't redo it, withhold the rest of the payment and threaten to post negative reviews all over the internet. Then do it. I'd get the inspector out there or at least talk to him/her on the phone to see if you can get any leverage on that side.

For SAFETY reasons, a competent, experienced mason is the only one who should be building a fireplace and chimney...and this is not the work of such a person.

Oh dear, I'm sorry this happened. You definitely need an inspector to come look at it.

The contractor returned and said they would redo it. I just don't know that the mason has the skill to do so, which I expressed. I was told to "give them a chance." I really don't know what else to do. Not sure what kind of inspector to call?

Did they lay it over what was already there? Have picture to show them exactly what you expect. Make it clear that if they don't feel they can produce that level of work to just pass on the job and refund your money. You might be surprised that they would rather give money back knowing they can't do it.

I would definitely have a chimney expert come inspect the rest of the work chimneys can be very dangerous if not done properly.

No, no laid over what was there - redone. The whole chimney came down on the outside and was rebuilt, except for the footing which they said was okay (which is a whole other issue since I'm not even sure they knew if it was or not). I'm just not sure what a "chimney expert" is.

I think the problem is that they put partial bricks side by side. Get them to do a trial layout on the floor before they install it so you can see how it will look.

I'm far from an expert on brick laying, But I think I can see where they got themselves in trouble: they tried to recreate the original pattern exactly, but since the new bricks are slightly smaller they were left with odd spaces at the corners and mortar lines that are too wide for the dimensions of the bricks.

If you choose to allow them a second go at it, communicate that the exact pattern doesn't have to be recreated. They should create something visually pleasing based on the specifics of the material they are using.

Some people paint the interior of the firebox black. Correct type of paint for firebox of course

You were told to "give them a chance?" You mean a second chance? And then what, a third?? If it's the same person doing it over, why would the results be any better this time? If he knew how to do it right the first time, why didn't he?

Hopefully you ask these questions (just the last two, though; the first three are a little combative) and get thorough answers.

I wouldn't allow the same person to do the redo. Their are many qualified people, have someone take a look at this for you first. (Someone you get yourselves). Your g c certainly should know of a more professional company or person to deal with thIs.

I assume it's a wood burning fireplace...so get someone who is WETT certified to inspect it?

It's very awkward. The mason is apparently a relative of his and they are both coming over tomorrow. Very hard to know how to handle.

Thank you very much for this input. Unfortunately the mason is related to the contractor (I think it's his father-in-law) and they are *both* coming tomorrow to discuss this with me. I already told the contractor that I doubt the mason can do a better job and his only response was that I should allow the guy a chance and that he "does this all the time." I'm very very glad I had pictures of the original work. But I'm really quite upset that they are even going to attempt a redo with the same guy. They are saying that they will get my approval every step of the way, but I'm not a mason and I don't know what's "right" enough to be approving this in that context. And even though the mason works for him, at one point we were asked to write a check directly to him, so there's that. I really just put too much trust in this guy and now I'm sick about it. He said several times, "I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going to abandon this, we *will* make it right" and while I'm happy to have the reassurance, it doesn't help if he continues to use this same guy.

Maybe they can give that check back to you until the job is done to your satisfaction? Or if already cashed, a business check from their company for the amount you already paid them, to be cashed if you're not satisfied after round two? Since they're such reasonable guys and all and aren't going anywhere, and are so confident in their ability...

That's what I would want in order to let this guy continue. I'm not sure how his skill level will improve to the level of mastery he will need by tomorrow but hey, you never know.

Don't let guilt pressure you into this. It's your investment, make a wise one.

The brickwork is sloppy but you always need to check the previous work of your builder. Always make sure your builder is experienced with similar successful projects that you can look at. Just that work looks sloppy does not mean that it will not pass inspection.

I see a lot of projects where the owner selects the low bidder or an inexperienced builder.

@onesharon, Okay, so i know it's been three years but I'm very interested to learn how this turned out! Do you have a fireplace you love?