How to fill in this hole

[naya820]

Hi, complete beginner here in need of advice. I recently had a gas fireplace installed in the basement. When they pulled out the old one, there was this big hole underneath. I'd like to continue painting the raised hearth white/gray to match the top, but I need to fill that hole first. The hole goes down to 4" in places. Should I fill it with concrete, and if so, what kind? Since everything will be painted anyway, should I fill it up to 1" and then put some brick veneer on top, and then paint it? The guys installing the fireplace said to fill it with mortar but it seems like it's too big of a hole for that, though I'm obviously out of my element. Thank you in advance!

 

[TheBigIron]

I think you could fill it in with concrete. Go to local hardware store and shop for concrete in a bag (sakcrete) they should be able to steer you in the right direction..

 

[Spirithelper]

I would get some similar size bricks and mortar them in place to kind of match the lay of the brick already there. You may have to break them in half length wise or have them cut if the hole is not deep enough to lay them in whole. I would lay the brick in place without mortar first, just to play around with ideas and figure out how you want them to set. Then mortar them in place. If you are painting them the brick color doesn't matter that much and long as the size is the same.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd fill it with bricks, but mortar would work fine.

 

[Tar12]

Another vote for filling it with brick..

 

[snobuilder]

I would chip out any odd pattern from the old build and try to make it look as close to 1/2 lap pattern that exists.
Even using the brick from under your new stove if they come out. You may still have to find some matching brick to fill in. Those red brick are real common.

 

[naya820]

This is very helpful! So I assume I could lay a very thick layer of mortar at the very bottom to make it a flat even surface, and then mortar the bricks at the top. Okay, will do. Thank you!!