Tiled Fireplace
When we were looking for a home our priority had been the property. We wanted wooded acres on the water. After weeks of searching, my husband and I took a four hour ride to see the what I thought was a possibility. Upon arriving, and since it was our priority, we chose to walk the property first. As we walked through the 2 acres of woods, which led to an expansive creek, we knew it was exactly what we wanted.
We just need to see the house.
I can’t say that I was surprised, but the house was pretty much, not anything that I would consider, yet the location, the property, the water sold us. I would just have to gut the house and start from scratch.
One of the endeavors I took on was to replace the fireplace. Although, it might be to some peoples liking, it was too dark, too average, too ancient looking to me. The peak of the design made me question what would possess someone to cut out two semi-circles in that matter. It had to go.
One of the easiest things, that I find is the demolition. I do have to admit, though that the quality of the wood was decent and I was tempted to save it. But, alas we trashed it. The brick itself I chose to leave as it would furnish us with a decent base to build upon.
My idea was to use leftover tile from our previous house to refinish the fireplace. I wanted to frame the fireplace itself and being that the tile we had was 12 x 12, that became the size of the frame. We used 2 x 4′s to create the structure and 1/4 inch plywood to cover the 2 x 4′s.
Next was the tile work. I decided it would be best to do the platform first and cover the brick. Starting with full tiles, I worked my way forward and cut the front pieces to fit with a wetsaw. I then started from the bottom up the sides of the fireplace, using spacers to keep the tiles in place. This went easily as planned. The challenge then was to place the 3 full tiles across the top with no support. In retrospect, I probably could have braced them with another 2 x 4, but at the time I didn’t think of that and chose to use duck tape instead. This method worked, but I held my breath waiting to see if they would move. They didn’t.
In the process of designing the fireplace, in my head, I chose to accent the frame with mirror strips, so allowed for this in the design. After the tiles we in place, I added the mirror strips.
Now the fun part! I wanted a mosaic look covering the entire wall behind the fireplace. I had left the previous mirror above, so worked around it. With safety glasses on and covering the tile with a cloth, I hit the tiles with a hammer creating various size pieces. The pieces broke haphazardly, which was actually the look I wanted. I again started at the bottom and worked my way up fitting the broken pieces one by one in a mosaic pattern. I used spacers to keep them where I wanted them. If I didn’t have a piece that fit, I broke more tiles until I found the size and shape that I thought suitable. I continued around the top a little past the halfway point. Beginning at the bottom of the other side, I worked my way up in the same manner as the previous side. I chose to do this again, because of the weight factor. Unfortunately, in doing this, you are very restricted to the size and shape of the tiles needed to meet the other side, but a few more strikes with the hammer will yield pieces that fit just right.
After letting the tile set for a day, I grouted the whole fireplace, being careful not to scratch any of the mirror. Grout is absolutely not my favorite thing to do because it seems as though it’s an endless job. As soon as you wipe it clean, it’s hazy again! After umpteen wipe-downs the fireplace was done!
For under $50 and two days work, we have a updated, unique fireplace and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
Tags: DIY, fireplace, mosaic fireplace, refinish fireplace, tiled fireplace
