Marble fireplaces in Nancy

Old fireplaces

The high-ceilinged flats of central Nancy have a fireplace in almost every main room, many in white, red, black or breccia marble, and many no longer used. Owners want to keep them, clean them, sometimes fit an insert.

What they usually need

Soot that has sunk into pale marble comes out with a poultice left 24 to 48 hours, without scrubbing. If an edge is chipped, we glue the piece back when you still have it, otherwise we fill with tinted resin. A cracked shelf is glued and pinned, or replaced in a close marble. A surround that has lost its shine is repolished, by hand on the mouldings.

No acid cleaners or limescale removers, even the mild bathroom ones. An exact match for a 19th-century marble is rare, some quarries have closed, so we hold a slab against the fireplace to find the nearest. See restoration and the fireplace guide.

Inserts

Marble copes with heat but not with big temperature differences across one piece. So the stone sits on its own support, never on the insert, with a gap of a few millimetres. Clearances follow the insert maker's instructions. If you rent, ask the landlord and the managing agent first.

New surrounds

Two jambs, a lintel, a shelf and a hearth. A shelf 3 to 5 cm thick holds a mirror, past 1.50 m it needs a support in the middle. See fireplaces.

Distance

Lorraine has marble firms closer than us. The trip makes sense for a particular piece, onyx, Galala or a slab from our stock. Or come to us on a Saturday, 10 am to 4.30 pm.

Many flats have no lift, and a 1.40 m shelf in 4 cm marble is close to 40 kg. Send front and side photos of the fireplace on WhatsApp to +33 7 45 20 76 39. Metz is 55 km north.