I'm getting a new insert and I have 2 questions.
#1 My fireplace is natural stone built in 1935. It will never be used as a fireplace again. I need to do some repairs inside of it, as it has a bunch of holes and cracks between the natural stones. Can I patch it up with regular mortar, rather than refractory cement since it will never be used as a fireplace again, only with a wood insert?
#2. Currently the firebox and hearth sits at floor level. I want to raise it 4" off the ground. I will build a frame using 2x4's and pour mortar into that to get the 4" height. I have a lot of cement boards in the basement, and wondering if I can cut those and stack them about 3 inches, and then pour the mortar over it all? I don't have a cement mixer and I don't like the idea of mixing all that mortar by hand. Also I'm a little worried about the weight of all that cement on my floor, although it looks like in the crawlspace under the house that there's a big cement pillar right under the fireplace.
#1 My fireplace is natural stone built in 1935. It will never be used as a fireplace again. I need to do some repairs inside of it, as it has a bunch of holes and cracks between the natural stones. Can I patch it up with regular mortar, rather than refractory cement since it will never be used as a fireplace again, only with a wood insert?
#2. Currently the firebox and hearth sits at floor level. I want to raise it 4" off the ground. I will build a frame using 2x4's and pour mortar into that to get the 4" height. I have a lot of cement boards in the basement, and wondering if I can cut those and stack them about 3 inches, and then pour the mortar over it all? I don't have a cement mixer and I don't like the idea of mixing all that mortar by hand. Also I'm a little worried about the weight of all that cement on my floor, although it looks like in the crawlspace under the house that there's a big cement pillar right under the fireplace.