Help with hearth brick/tile

[MikeTilton]

We moved into a house with a 1981 Hearthstone II stove. The hearth itself was very outdated. We tried to update it a bit by whitewashing it. However, it hasnt turned out as expected. The floor of the hearth has a polyurethane coating over the bricks so we cant whitewash them as well. At this point we are leaning toward tile but need to know what kind of materials we need. Basically--we need all the advice we can get. We are open to any suggestions. Here is a picture:

 

[begreen]

Now that the base bricks are sealed the easiest thing to do would be to sand them lightly and paint them with a latex porch paint. The background brick doesn't look too bad. Give it another coat if you want it whiter.

 

[MikeTilton]

Now that the base bricks are sealed the easiest thing to do would be to and lightly then paint them with a latex porch paint. The background brick doesn't look too bad. Give it another coat if you want it whiter.

Sorr

Now that the base bricks are sealed the easiest thing to do would be to and lightly then paint them with a latex porch paint. The background brick doesn't look too bad. Give it another coat if you want it whiter.

Thanks for the reply. It looks like an important word was missing from your reply. Can you clarify? You said "the easiest thing to do would be to...."

 

[MikeTilton]

I've decided to tile the base of the hearth and leave the brick whitewashed around the walls. I've never tiled anything before, but I'm pretty handy and have figured out plenty of projects. Questions for you:
1. What type of mortar do we need since we'll be putting it around the wood stove which will heat up and cool down constantly?
2. Any special tiles?
3. Anyone have experience using a jigsaw with a tile cutting blade to cut tiles? otherwise I guess I have to rent/borrow a wetsaw, right?
4. Any suggestions for making a clean finish around the the front (rounded part) rounded part of the hearth?

thanks in advance!

 

[begreen]

Sorr

Thanks for the reply. It looks like an important word was missing from your reply. Can you clarify? You said "the easiest thing to do would be to...."

Sorry, posting from the phone is not easy. I edited the post to include, "lightly sand" the bricks.

 

[Rastallama]

I've decided to tile the base of the hearth and leave the brick whitewashed around the walls. I've never tiled anything before, but I'm pretty handy and have figured out plenty of projects. Questions for you:
1. What type of mortar do we need since we'll be putting it around the wood stove which will heat up and cool down constantly?
2. Any special tiles?
3. Anyone have experience using a jigsaw with a tile cutting blade to cut tiles? otherwise I guess I have to rent/borrow a wetsaw, right?
4. Any suggestions for making a clean finish around the the front (rounded part) rounded part of the hearth?

thanks in advance!

@MikeTilton Check my posts or my flickr install in my signature... i just] made my hearth and finished my install yesterday. OSB... CementBoard... Thinset... pretty much any tile... grout or not... voila!
Saw depends on tile you use... flagstone (thin) cuts with a hammer and chisel... much less noisy and less dusty...
Trim the rounded bit with wood or finish it with angles... that might "update" the look too. But trim with wood and caulk that last seam/joint.