Help Extending Hearth on 2-sided Fireplace

[redrider]

Hello.
New member here...
I have a mid-60s Frank Lloyd Wright style split-level house in Wisconsin. It has a 2-sided wood burning masonry fireplace that faces into the living room and dining room. It originally used large mirrors as a surround. I decided to remove the mirrors and plan to replace them with a light colored stacked stone (faux stone) type finish. I also plan to paint/replace the brass colored fireplace doors. As I dug into the project, I realized that the existing hearth did not extend far enough in any direction to meet building code. The original fireplace opening measures 44”x20”. Because the opening is slightly over 6 feet, I believe building code requires the hearth to extend 12 inches to each side, and 20 inches in the front. On the living room side, I have enough room to extend the raised hearth in both directions, or build some type of hearth pad on the floor. On the dining room side, the left side of the fireplace is very close to a combustible wall – too close to extend the hearth to the side to actually meet code.
The existing hearth is a slab of black stone that appears to be pretty solidly fixed into place. I’m open to the idea of covering it, but I don’t think removing it is an easy option.
Any help/advice/ideas on how to extend the hearth in both rooms would be greatly appreciated. I’m especially concerned about the lack of room for expansion in the dining room.

 

[begreen]

The mirror, brass, hearth all don't look like they are part of the original design. They look very un-Wright. Maybe make it single sided? In the least I would tear out the living room side completely and continue the stacked stone look with a large matching stone hearth. You might even be able to make it with 10" deep steps with seating on the sides. Use the natural materials that Wright would have used to create a warm, inviting focal point to the room and a gathering place.

 

[redrider]

The mirror, brass, hearth all don't look like they are part of the original design. They look very un-Wright. Maybe make it single sided? In the least I would tear out the living room side completely and continue the stacked stone look with a large matching stone hearth. You might even be able to make it with 10" deep steps with seating on the sides. Use the natural materials that Wright would have used to create a warm, inviting focal point to the room and a gathering place.

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Thank you for the feedback. I had considered making it one-sided, especially when I was looking for inserts. I had originally backed away from that idea because the few 2-sided inserts I was able to find were all pretty expensive. And it would be nice to still have the fire visible on the dining room side. But it looks nearly impossible to extend the hearth enough on that side to get it up to code. I'm not really sure what they were thinking when they originally built it that way. Maybe building codes were different back then? I'm not sure how to go about pulling out the slab that makes up the current hearth without destroying a lot of the masonry it's attached to, but I'll look into that as an option.
Any additional ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[Dave A.]

Can't help thinking in terms of an insert installation -- just what I do when I see a fireplace.
So yeah, 20" is very low and will limit you on choice of inserts, and if you wanted to change the look of the fireplace to something more classic rather than that mid century modern I'd take the base of the fireplace down to about level with your floor, making the firebox higher and squarer. You were talking about refacing with stone, iirc.

I'd probably close up the back, but you could leave it open with just a screen over the opening and the insert in there facing the living room. Or if you end up with about 32" height you might even be able to put a freestanding stove in there. Build out the hearth at floor level. If you're concerned about saving the piece of stone that's serving as the hearth, a diamond saw blade should make a clean cut. Can't really tell what's going on underneath there without some clearer closeup pics.

 

[begreen]

Yes, a Hearthstone Clydesdale in mahogany enamel would look great surrounded by the stacked stone.