Hearth help please!

[disamatic]

So I am really struggling on how to go about filling the outside edge of this with river rocks and mortar work. How does one get the layout figured and then get the work done, do people use a filler or do you really pack her full of mortar? I am about ripping my hair out.

 

[TheRambler]

So I am really struggling on how to go about filling the outside edge of this with river rocks and mortar work. How does one get the layout figured and then get the work done, do people use a filler or do you really pack her full of mortar? I am about ripping my hair out.

I built one similar in my parents old house. I dry fit all the stone pieces in then laid them out in the same general shape off to the side so i could see and remember roughly where they all went. Then I layed a 1/2 in or so(just a guess there) of mortar in the bottom and began placing the stones in place. Once I had them all In I immediately followed up with mortar inbetween the stones by using a grout bag to squeeze it in all the cracks. I purposefully left a bit of a gap between each stone to make this a tad easier and neater looking. Then after it was all partially set I whiped the stone clean with a grout sponge. Then buffed the stone with a microfiber rag to get the haze off.

 

[disamatic]

I guess I am being to worrisome, that sounds like a great idea, I just have some rocks that are of different heights and it seems as though I would be using a lot of mortar.

 

[TheRambler]

It is best to try and sort a bunch of them and get ones that are similar in size. Otherwise just use more mortar below the smaller ones as needed or use all flatish ones and lay kinda like tile. It does take a good bit of mortar in any case.

You want a thick enough layer on the bottom so that you can press the stones in, you want it to be thick so it holds them in place easily. Then you want it much thinner for filling in the gaps. You can always clean off any excess, but the less you have to clean off the easier it will be.