Hi all. I fancy using slate tiles for a hearth and back. So it would be 4 x 30cm square tiles for a 1.2m length hearth but how should I build up the height to the usual hearth depth?
n.b. I will be surrounding the front and sides with timber to cover the edges of laminate flooring.
Thanks.
Arthur
Paving slabs.
300 square x 50mm would be about right I reckon. Alan.
I used a mortar bed.
Make sure you check minimum hight above existing floor and depth required for any type of fire you might use there. ISTR gas fires require 2" (or probably 50mm nowadays) above existing floor coverings, and I can't recall the depth required.
I've just done a search and it seems that a hearth should be a minimum of 15" or 40cm deep. I also want to keep the cost down so buying 2" thick slate sounds expensive. I'm now thinking of 40cm square slate tiles that would be about
10/12mm thick.Arthur
How did you set shutter the mortar bed? And what mix of mortar? And..did you set the tiles on tile cement... Arthur
One of ours is a hearth constructed with a brick core and then tiled - in our case with heavy terracotta "pammets". No idea what's under the others.
B&Q have 400mm paving slabs @ about £1.30 each, they are about 25mm thick, so if you lay them on 10mm of sand/cement mixed at 3:1, plus your tile adhesive, plus your tiles, you will have a proper thickness.
once it's all set, you can drill and plug the edges to affix timber, or, affix a framework of 3X2 to the floor, infill with any mixture of the above, then fix your skirtings to this once tiling is complete.
. I was thinking about that, too. is it red sand or sharp sand for the mortar layer?
Arthur
it's not important, any sand you have, or whichever is cheapest
Cast a plinth of rubble and mortar.
Done it several times. Great fun.
If over a flexible floor like suspended wood, use a bit of chicken wire at the base or similar.
And go easy on the rubble and make it more or less concrete.
,
Look I've done it many ways.
Concrete blocks laid on the side bedded on about 3:1 mortar is good for deep stuff. For less depth use straight mortar with sharp sand and a bit of aggregate thrown in, and reinforce with wire. You ar probably not advised to go less than about 50mm with concrete though..less than that is practically a matter of simply hoping the substrate is not flexible, and using just a thick mortar bed. And slapping slates straight on top.
Ive used thick tile cement for up to 1.5" depth. Proper stuff. None of yer shed 'tubs'. Ardurit fast setting.
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