Floor Tile

[Bootlegger]

My sweep just left and I have to knock the hearth down a few inches. Shouldn't be a problem, it's two courses of brick on top of concrete pad. When that is up I'd like to use tile. Any advice on tile material? Grout material? Bigger tiles v. smaller tiles? Designated hitter or pitcher hits?

 

[Bootlegger]

Bump.

Really? No ideas about tile material for my new hearth? This must be a first on hearth.com.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Honestly - whatever you want. See my pics in the 'perfect picture' forum of my new honed slate hearth (F500 install....)

 

[Bootlegger]

Honestly - whatever you want. See my pics in the 'perfect picture' forum of my new honed slate hearth (F500 install....)

Ok, thanks. I wasn't looking for decorator tips, just wondering if some materials hold up better to the high heat than others.

 

[weatherguy]

Everyones waiting for pictures

 

[CarbonNeutral]

It's stone, you'll be fine, unless you use wood. That will catch fire.

 

[Bootlegger]

Everyones waiting for pictures

It'll be a couple weeks from taking down the current hearth and Fisher smoke dragon to the new install. I'll do before, during and after pics to share.

My concern with material is that some stone cracks easier after high heat and the stove is heavy. As long as nobody has a "don't use that" story I guess I'm fine.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Okay, proper answer. I considered travertine, but was worried it would scratch really easily. Any choice will fail if you screw up the base - nice and level, good coverage of thinset, almost anything would work.

 

[Bootlegger]

Honestly - whatever you want. See my pics in the 'perfect picture' forum of my new honed slate hearth (F500 install....)

Looks great. We'll be using slate, or a slate-look porcelain, to match the local slate we have in our upstairs fireplace. Did you use regular thinset and grout?

 

[CarbonNeutral]

yep, the thinset with latex that everywhere carries, and regular sanded grout.

 

[Bootlegger]

Okay, proper answer. I considered travertine, but was worried it would scratch really easily. Any choice will fail if you screw up the base - nice and level, good coverage of thinset, almost anything would work.

Scratch resistant seems important with metal tools.

I gotta admit, I was a bit deflated by the idea of One More Thing on The List, but now I'm getting kinda psyched about the new look with the new stove.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

In retrospect though, the natural stone can take a bit of buffing to get out scratches whereas a printed pattern on porcelain, not so much. 6 of one, half dozen, etc... (is that even a recognized saying in the US? - split life UK/US leaves me confused...)

 

[Bootlegger]

In retrospect though, the natural stone can take a bit of buffing to get out scratches whereas a printed pattern on porcelain, not so much. 6 of one, half dozen, etc... (is that even a recognized saying in the US? - split life UK/US leaves me confused...)

It is indeed, my dad use to say it all the time. As a rebellious word geek I use "half of one, 50% of the other". Yes, I know.

 

[firefighterjake]

My sweep just left and I have to knock the hearth down a few inches. Shouldn't be a problem, it's two courses of brick on top of concrete pad. When that is up I'd like to use tile. Any advice on tile material? Grout material? Bigger tiles v. smaller tiles? Designated hitter or pitcher hits?

Material . . . any tile or stone should be fine for a choice. There are some pros- and cons- to the various tiles or stones -- some are softer than others and more prone to scratches/fractures.

Grout . . . again, go with what you want.

Big vs. small tiles . . . again, personal choice.

DH or pitcher hits . . . make the pitcher hit.

The four key components in my opinion is . . .

1) make sure your base is rigid and flat (which probably isn't an issue if you're on a concrete pad)

2) use Flexbond or Versabond or whatever it's called . . . it allows some flexing of the tile if need be.

3) make sure you meet the manufacturer's R value requirements . . . which again should not be an issue if installed on a concrete pad

4) give yourself plenty of time

 

[Bootlegger]

DH or pitcher hits . . . make the pitcher hit.

The four key components in my opinion is . . .

1) make sure your base is rigid and flat (which probably isn't an issue if you're on a concrete pad)

2) use Flexbond or Versabond or whatever it's called . . . it allows some flexing of the tile if need be.

3) make sure you meet the manufacturer's R value requirements . . . which again should not be an issue if installed on a concrete pad

4) give yourself plenty of time

I agree, make the pitcher hit. DH is boring and takes the strategy out of the game.
The flexible thinset sounds like good advice.
I never leave myself enough time.

 

[PJF1313]

You could come up my way and grab some granite that was dumped in my back yard. But, be aware, I haven't come across
a piece that is not smaller that 10' x 5' x 12". So ya better bring some help and know a good stone cutter!

P.S. Ya gonna need a good truck to make the 'round trip ;-)

 

[Sueiris]

Ok, what about 1/4 " thick tiles vs. 1/2"? is it safe to go with 1/4"?

I'm also looking to redo my hearth - looking at green slate, possibly through Vermont Stone, but the shipping is WAY expensive.

someone said the 1/2" or 3/4" is better in terms of breakage or dropping logs on it, but certainly shipping would be cheaper with the 1/4".

LOVE this forum, btw....great work!

 

[firefighterjake]

Ok, what about 1/4 " thick tiles vs. 1/2"? is it safe to go with 1/4"?

I'm also looking to redo my hearth - looking at green slate, possibly through Vermont Stone, but the shipping is WAY expensive.

someone said the 1/2" or 3/4" is better in terms of breakage or dropping logs on it, but certainly shipping would be cheaper with the 1/4".

LOVE this forum, btw....great work!

If I was starting from scratch I would probably go with 1/2 inch . . . but as it was I went with 1/4 inch slate since I was given two boxes of slate several years ago . . . and since I only needed one other box it made sense economically for me to go with what I had. As I said, if I was to build one right now with no extra slate on hand I would probably go with 1/2 inch for the durability factor.

That said, one year + and no cracks or breakage . . . but I also am careful when I'm loading the wood into the stove and I made sure my base was very rigid with little to no flex.

 

[tickbitty]

I kinda like those traditional 6" square terra-cotta colored tiles. They look nice and warm, not overly fancy, go with brick and pretty much everything else, and must be pretty hard-wearing and utilitarian for all the places you see them used for so many decades. They have a finish that's sort of in-between, not slick but not pourous so it's easy to clean but not shiny. I rarely see them used on redos, so I must be in the minority on seeing their appeal!

 

[MovingOffGrid]

just finished tearing up the lino and tiling 1200 sq ft of ground floor.

I have developed a new swear phrase - "LINO REMOVAL"
Never again will I put down lino or take it up - it was fused to my concrete floor in many places - what a pain in the @ss that was! Tennis elbow on both arms from wielding floor scrapers for 3 weeks!

- Went with a builders tile (just means they make lots of it so there are deals to be had) - attractive dirt colour with nice pattern that hides everything - lol
- Porcelin - has better scratch resistance as the pattern tends to (not always) run through the tile rather than being only on surface like some ceramics.
- Flex thin set a must if you have hydronic heat in floor like we do - we also used special matt around the perimeter to get a good bond over protruding edge rigid floor insulation
- Went with crushed glass grout for best wearing and a neutral colour grout to hide dirt - I have heard horror stories about light coloured grout and never getting it clean looking once dirty.
- Sealed the grout and was told to do it in high traffic areas at least every couple years

Overall, a HUGE improvement in looks, durability, home value.

one more thing - the larger the tile, the more critical it is to make sure you have a very level floor - large tiles can be tough to place around tight doorways or irregularities and if the floor has significant dips or rises, you'd better get them taken care of prior.

Sounds like you're just doing a small area, so forgive the length if this is overkill.