Hello, let me start by saying I am a novice DIYer trying to make home improvements affordable.
I'm trying to reface my wall up to the mantle as I get ready to have a gas insert installed but have run into some concerns that I'm hoping someone can explain to me.
When I removed the mantle, I found some type of board (what is it?) on top of wood framing. Can I safely replace the board over the wood studs that I ripped out and patch up the wall? Do I have to remove all the wood studs and reframe with steel?
I would then put cement board over the existing brick and reface with either tile or thin brick.![[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/271/271241-3bdc63ff4365cb63785422f0764ee2cd.jpg?hash=jgNVHeIVEW "[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help")
![[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/271/271242-ca6e153c7de8101ad62e5a33815f55c5.jpg?hash=wMEVuDMNhu "[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help")
![[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/271/271243-b21b0ac5d5f11a95ea693a5193d6a7a1.jpg?hash=1jsKqhsnRi "[Hearth.com] Wall makeover help")
I'm trying to reface my wall up to the mantle as I get ready to have a gas insert installed but have run into some concerns that I'm hoping someone can explain to me.
When I removed the mantle, I found some type of board (what is it?) on top of wood framing. Can I safely replace the board over the wood studs that I ripped out and patch up the wall? Do I have to remove all the wood studs and reframe with steel?
I would then put cement board over the existing brick and reface with either tile or thin brick.
