How to tile a fireplace hearth?

[NSuzette]

Hello

I'm a newbie renovator /interior designer and I want to tile this fireplace. My specific questions are;

1. How should I go about levelling/preparing it all? The bricks (concrete I think) sit about 25mm proud from the surrounding floorboards - how should I try to build up the surrounding? (It was recommended not to remove the bricks as it was unsure what, if anything was underneath).  Should I try to fill in all the holes and dents on the bricks or should I put some backing board down to level it (or both)?

2. What substrate should I put under the tiles, if any? 

3. What would be the best way to fill in the 'letterbox' opening in the brick wall behind the hearth, or should I just put a board/some sort of substrate over it and tile onto that? 

Feel free to send any 'how to' links if you have any - especially good 'how to tile' utubes!

Fireplace (showing the 'letterbox' hold in the bricksThe bricks sit 25mm proud of the floorboards

Thanks again, much appreciated!

Cheers, Nicole

PS the gas pipe has been disconnected and will be removed.

[EricL]

Hello @NSuzette 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about tiling your fireplace hearth.

Are you placing a gas heating appliance on top of the hearth or are you just tiling it to make it look nice? Are you tiling the entire front of the fireplace? Do you have a picture of what the fireplace will look like after all that tiling. It looks like the original tiler wanted the hearth to be at the same level as the mouth of the fireplace, do you wish to keep this height, or do you want it the same level as the floor?

There are ways and means to tile the hearth and front of the fireplace, but if you are going to use it as a platform for heating, it's important to follow the recommendations of the appliance manufacturer. Any material to be used must be heat rated. As soon as you provide us with more information regarding your plans, we can then make recommendations on how to proceed.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[NSuzette]

Hi Eric

Thank you for responding. there will be no appliances used, it will just be renovated for aesthetic purposes. 

My plan was to tile the hearth with black gloss subway tiles and put brass trim around the base of the hearth.

I would like to tile the little step up to the inside of the fireplace and the inside face with 20x20 square mosaic tiles.

I would like to wallpaper the front of the fireplace and paint the inside edge of the fireplace black. I have attached a mockup (not to scale but will give you an idea).

Cheers, Nicole

[MitchellMc]

Hi @NSuzette, 

For your tiling, it's important to start with a level surface. You can tile over the current masonry, but given that some of the bricks are damaged, I recommend filling those areas with Dunlop 5kg Ardit Rapidset Repair Mortar. This will help to repair any damaged spots and ensure a better surface for the tiles. You might also want to consider skimming the bricks with the same mortar to create an even surface, although the tile adhesive will fill in most voids, so it doesn’t need to be perfect.

For the wallpaper, the rough and stippled surface of the masonry may pose a challenge. Wallpaper typically adheres best to smooth surfaces, so applying it directly could result in a poor finish. To resolve this, you might want to remove the existing paint and apply a smooth cement coating, or an easier option could be installing plasterboard over the fireplace. This would give you a much smoother surface to wallpaper onto and would make the entire finish look more polished.

Here are a few helpful guides: How to lay floor tiles, How to tile a wall and How to hang wallpaper.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell