I'm renovating a fireplace hearth in a 1940s era home. I removed the tile and found this arched brick and mortar structure that is several inches deep. Its sort of like a pile of brick thats highest in the middle and drops off towards the firebox and towards the wood floor (under the cardboard in the second picture).
The first picture shows the underside as viewed from the basement, lathe spanning between arched wood framing and mortar and brick above it.
I'm intending to chisel and smash the mortar and brick until I have enough room to pour self-leveler and lay down cement board, then lay tile that will be flush with the floor. Is this a reasonable approach? Does anyone have experience tiling over this kind of structure? I'm a little concerned the self-leveler will not bond to anything or run down through holes into the basement.
![[Hearth.com] Arched brick and mortar hearth](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/basement-ceiling-webp.342267/ "[Hearth.com] Arched brick and mortar hearth")
![[Hearth.com] Arched brick and mortar hearth](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/hearth-webp.342266/ "[Hearth.com] Arched brick and mortar hearth")
The first picture shows the underside as viewed from the basement, lathe spanning between arched wood framing and mortar and brick above it.
I'm intending to chisel and smash the mortar and brick until I have enough room to pour self-leveler and lay down cement board, then lay tile that will be flush with the floor. Is this a reasonable approach? Does anyone have experience tiling over this kind of structure? I'm a little concerned the self-leveler will not bond to anything or run down through holes into the basement.
