STOCKTON — Winter is here, and as we head further into the cold and wet season, fireplace safety is imperative. Snuggling by the fireplace was the plan one ... bond to the brick," Skinner ...

Q: I'd like to remove my fireplace brick ... Just apply a thick layer of mortar and embed the new material. In both cases you will have to pretreat the old brick with a concrete adhesive to ...

Q: I would like to paint the brick and tile around my fireplace, which has a gas insert. I suspect it might involve different prep work and paint for each surface. How should we proceed?