concrete/faux concrete hearth and surround ideas.

[Ipanema67]

Hello everyone, I have a metal box wood burning fireplace in a condo I am remodeling. The last owner had a mantle and brick hearth and surround, but I want to go in a different direction. I am thinking of doing a cast concrete pad for the hearth and faux concrete for the surround. I wish the wall it was on had some dimension to it but it is just flat. Options that come to mind are a. just a surround. b. taking the surround all the way up the wall. c. using faux concrete on the whole wall and wrapping it around the corner. I'm very undecided. I'm attaching some pics of this currently boring wall. Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated...thanks!

 

[begreen]

The hearth must meet the fireplace requirements for insulation. Do you know the make and model?

 

[Ipanema67]

Hi, thank you for your response... The condo is built on a concrete slab so I don't think to floor/hearth is an issue. The "hearth would not be raised, just a precast concrete slab sitting on the concrete. The slab would extend out over 18" from the firebox. My understanding is that the hearth must extend 8" on each side of the box. It is also my understanding that you must have a 6" non combustable surround around the box. This originally consisted of brick tile over drywall. I am not clear if I can use a material like hardibacker and faux concrete over it. The "fireplace" itself is not masonry, but a metal box with prefab cast sides. There are other units in this complex with the drywall/paint running right up to the edges of the box but just because they did that doesn't make it right. Thanks in advance for your advice...

 

[Ipanema67]

Also, I can not find info on the specific make and model...

 

[begreen]

If the floor is concrete then the hearth insulation is not an issue. The other question is aesthetic.

 

[Ipanema67]

what about the surround clearance using a non combustable material (hardibacker/cementboard) or other...also, aesthetic ideas?

 

[bholler]

what about the surround clearance using a non combustable material (hardibacker/cementboard) or other...also, aesthetic ideas?

You really need to find out what make and model it is so you can look up the manual and find the specs

 

[begreen]

Is there a door on this fireplace? Look in the door channel for an ID tag.

 

[Ashful]

I used thin brick "tiles" when replacing the firebox floor and hearth extension in one of my fireplaces. I'll copy a picture below. I sourced the tiles from Inglenook Tile near Lancaster, PA.

Inglenook Brick Tile - Thin brick, brick pavers, historic brick

Inglenook Brick Tile provides the authentic look of brick without the weight or bulk of a full-sized brick.

www.inglenooktile.com

Excuse the "early old lady" wallpaper, left by the prior owners of the house, we dealt with that soon after the fireplace was done.

 

[jalmondale]

I'm a big fan of porcelain tile, which you can get in almost any shape/style/pattern you could want (I did my hearth with some that look like light-colored slate over some micore). If you want something that will really pop, tin ceiling tiles are also a good option (that's actually what I used to make a removable covering for the fireplace opening behind my stove, since porcelain would be a bit heavy).