Replacing Hearth with flush tile to floor

[Cblaze22]

We are retiling our fireplace and you can see what we originally had. We already removed everything back to the original. My question is I would like it be flush to the floor. Would tearing up the first four squares from front to back be a good idea? This is a 92 year old house so I'm not sure what that material is and if I should go on top of it like the original owners did.

 

[begreen]

Not sure which image is the original fireplace and the new?

 

[electrathon]

That stacked stone looks gorgeous !

You may be opening a can of worms. You may be able to see what the floor is made up of if you have heater vents or any drilled holes someplace in the floor. Most have a veneer of one sort or another on top of a thick base, but old houses can be unpredictable.

 

[Cblaze22]

Not sure which image is the original fireplace and the new?

Are you serious? You think we put stack stone on top?

 

[Cblaze22]

That stacked stone looks gorgeous !

You may be opening a can of worms. You may be able to see what the floor is made up of if you have heater vents or any drilled holes someplace in the floor. Most have a veneer of one sort or another on top of a thick base, but old houses can be unpredictable.

Yea but what is that material, is it tile? I assume there is wood under there but u can't be sure. We have the stone in the kitchen but it didn't go with our room at all.

 

[electrathon]

My house was built in the 1930's and the flush to floor hearth had tile on the top, 6" of concrete below. That was unusual for most houses in this area. The rest of the floor was 3/4 fur boards, with 3/8" oak nailed down. I trimmed back the oak, break out the tile and placed solid slab of polishes granite on top, bedded in thin set. You will need to do some sort of investigating to fee what was done. My guess as to what kind of tile is a red clay/ceramic. Very hard to guess with just pictures.

 

[Cblaze22]

My house was built in the 1930's and the flush to floor hearth had tile on the top, 6" of concrete below. That was unusual for most houses in this area. The rest of the floor was 3/4 fur boards, with 3/8" oak nailed down. I trimmed back the oak, break out the tile and placed solid slab of polishes granite on top, bedded in thin set. You will need to do some sort of investigating to fee what was done. My guess as to what kind of tile is a red clay/ceramic. Very hard to guess with just pictures.

My house was built in the 1930's and the flush to floor hearth had tile on the top, 6" of concrete below. That was unusual for most houses in this area. The rest of the floor was 3/4 fur boards, with 3/8" oak nailed down. I trimmed back the oak, break out the tile and placed solid slab of polishes granite on top, bedded in thin set. You will need to do some sort of investigating to fee what was done. My guess as to what kind of tile is a red clay/ceramic. Very hard to guess with just pictures.

Here is a close up. You can see in the side picture it's almost an inch thick.

 

[begreen]

Are you serious? You think we put stack stone on top?

I have no idea. That is the first image that shows. Is the stacked stone image an example of what you want for the final?

 

[electrathon]

Here is a close up. You can see in the side picture it's almost an inch thick.

My suspicion is that it is not that thick, but is a bull nosed tile. If you pry it off it might look like an L.

 

[Cblaze22]

You think the bottom are bull nose also? I am not taking the horseshoe tiles off, just the hearth.

 

[electrathon]

If it was mine, I would break it out. I am not sure what you will find for sure, you may end up with the same thickness, possibly a little higher or lower when done. No matter what it will look nicer if done correctly. I personally love the look of natural stone. manufactured stone can be ok, can be cheap looking. Tile is my least favorite.

 

[Cblaze22]

The guy who is doing the tile is very pessimistic about it. Saying it will be a mess, etc. I think he wants to do the easy tiling and not have any gotchas. Just trying to weigh my options.

 

[electrathon]

It will be a mess. Tearing it our is not the easy road., but will look better in the end if done correctly.

 

[Cblaze22]

When you say a mess what do you exactly mean? Just the tile being torn up and thrown away?

 

[electrathon]

Yes, fast and easy to just cover over existing. If you break it out there is a lot more work, dust, etc.