Just had my daughter on the phone - at least she is the practical one that can wield a tape measure reliably, and is reasonably savvy about doing some things herself.
Anyway she wants her unused fireplace tiled - ex-council house so nothing to get excited about.
The hearth area is some 400 x 600mm and is 6mm below the existing floor level.
I was going to ask what to use to take up the unevenness of the hearth but realised while typing that a bit of mdf or ply bedded onto one of these acryllic no-nails type filler adhesives might well be good enough - correct ?
If you are ever going to have a fire (gas or real) there, there are rules about the size of the hearth which you might want to check out. Also, if you are on the ground floor, the hearth may not have any damp proof course (as the fire kept it dry), in which case any timber will quickly fail.
When I moved into a place in the 1980's, I dug out the (damp) hearth, replaced the resulting rotted joists, and laid floorboards across. I then built a mortar hearth on top of these, so a gas fire could be used. ISTR the hearth had to be a certain height above the top of the carpet pile and extend out a certain distance in front of the fireplace in order for Eastern Gas (as it then was) to install the gas fire.
hat can wield a tape measure reliably, and is reasonably savvy about doing some things herself.
ng to get excited about.
but realised while typing that a bit of mdf or ply bedded onto one of these acryllic no-nails type filler adhesives might well be good enough - correc t ?
Thanks Andrew - my daughter doesn't intend to use this as a fire place at a ll and just wants it to be a 'hole' which is at least slightly decorative. IF she ever does come to sell then the presence of decorative tiles in the fire place should be a big enough flag not to use it as a hearth without c hecking.
The one comment you make about the lack of damp proof course is a little co ncerning, and is worth mentioning. In this case, I've just checked, the wh ole ground floor is concrete and has no dampness problems so it's reasonabl e to assume that there is an effective DPC.
On that basis, is mdf for tiling over and acrylic filler/adhesive for taken up any unevenness in the substrate the way to go ?
If you are going to tile over than a floor levelling compound will do. Wickes do one that can be applied to almost any thickness you want, even basic ones will usually do 6 to 8mm.
If it looks like a fireplace, the odds are that after a sale, it will be used as a fireplace, possibly not by the person your daughter has told it's only a decorative feature, so don't light a fire in it. Future purchasers may well just assume it to be a fireplace that has been decomissioned. For this reason, I'd strongly suggest doing it according to the rules. Non-combustible material for the right distance, and fire resisting construction in the hole, as well as making sure the flue can be easily re-opened and hasn't been blocked off just out of sight.
I think that's what I would go for. You can be absolutely sure that no matter where and how often you measure the depth of the hollow it will always be more than the thickness of the proposed sheet material. Until you come to fit it, then there will be umpteen high spots...
A leveling compound also side steps the other possible issues of some one reinstating a fire on top of the tiled flammble material.
at all and just wants it to be a 'hole' which is at least slightly decorati ve. IF she ever does come to sell then the presence of decorative tiles in the fire place should be a big enough flag not to use it as a hearth witho ut checking.
I have to (mildly?) disagree with this although it may seem sensible advice.
Firstly, the internal area is to be decorative tiles. To reinstate the chimney these would have to be removed which would reveal the MDF. Anyone who just lights a fire (in what?) on decorative tiles is beyond foolish. A tiled base would be suitable for a stove, but little else. HETAS installer should, of course, check the hearth before installing.
Equally, anyone who tries to light a fire without first checking that the flue is clear deserves all that they get - you cannot protect against such foolishness. I see no reason for a special effort to make sure that the flue can be easily re-opened - given that it seems pretty hard to block off a flue in an area which is inaccessible. If you can get to it to block it off then you should be able to get to it to clear the blockage.
I have just ripped out a (damp) fireplace and I'm going to use the area as a built in hi-fi rack, with power and some other stuff under the flooring inside the fireplace. Basically extending the suspended floor into the fireplace. Anyone who ignores the wood and the power leads and tries to light a fire in there is welcome to the consequences.
Equally, I'm going to (attempt to) block of the flue up around the bend so I can use the lowest part to conceal cabling to the TV mounted above the fireplace. I will be trying to make this a robust and permanent fixture (for various values of robust and permanent) with an inspection door from the outside above the blockage (old style external flue access) so I can get at the flue above the blockage to install securely and also deal with anything falling down the flue in the future.
Having said all that, if the hearth can be levelled with a suitable hearth material with no major extra cost and effort then this is the way to go to retain future flexibility. I just think that the OP should not be constrained to this solution.
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