Austin reacts as the woman goes through the process, pointing out that the caulk she uses is for tiles, it’s not safe to be near a fireplace, and the paint she uses is not a furnace primer. “It’s physically uncomfortable to see people painting fireplaces,” he says, observing.
The original poster then fired back, replying to commenters on her video and appearing to cover Austin himself. I got a lot of comments from ‘experts’ saying they shouldn’t have painted it,” she says in the rebuttal video. she then Thermometer showing broken bricks Near the fireplace, the paint is not heated to the maximum safe limit of 200 degrees. (She did not respond to a DM for comment from BuzzFeed News.)
So who is right?
Russ Dimitt, education director for the American Chimney Safety Association, which certifies chimney sweeps, says painting over fireplaces is rarely safe, but his main concern is that paint traps moisture. and damage the bricks. “As an industry, we do not routinely recommend bricking as it can cause problems with the longevity of the brick and mortar,” he told BuzzFeed News.
Seeing the growing popularity of painted fireplaces, Dimitt became very concerned and contacted a televised DIY show to try and alert them to the problem. “They said, ‘This is TV, don’t worry,'” he recalls.
However, not all building professionals view painted fireplaces as a major disaster. Austin Jenkins, his inspector at Tennessee Home, who advises on TikTok, said: Inspector AJ, told BuzzFeed News, “Painting a fireplace is relatively safe.” He added: my The fireplace, if that says anything. He points out that international building codes, which specify that there must be no combustible material within six inches of a fireplace opening, refer to wood trim and other materials, perhaps more than paint. Did.
Austin is no hardliner when it comes to not painting a fireplace. He emphasized that if he does so, he should not use latex paint (which is flammable at certain temperatures). “We recommend earth-based pigments,” Austin said. “Another option is to use furnace paint or high-temperature paint.
In fact, he duets a House Flipper video with Furnace Paint and gives it his seal of approval.
