How To Remove Tile From Brick Fireplace – Can you tile over a brick fireplace? Yes! Plastering brick (even painted brick!) is an easy DIY project as long as your brick is in good condition. Learn how to do it yourself with this simple tutorial.
If you’ve been following this entire fireplace makeover process on Instagram, let me remind you where we started:
How To Remove Tile From Brick Fireplace
But the “mantel” which was actually a shelf was too short for the area and drove me crazy. I have a thing for symmetry and proportion and it’s really something to look at every day. Also, I saw beautiful shadow boxes and marble countertops…so we plan to do that.
Prescott View Home Reno: Fireplace Remodel
Well- I originally drew it by hand, but now it’s too messy because it’s full of letters and measurements, so I thought I’d make it digitally now for you. The scheme of neighborhood and village is very simple.
The showroom was too small for this conversion, as it had to be placed away from the wall and a deep pendant hung over it. Since this wall has a lot of woodwork, we chose to build all sizes (width wise) the same. That way, it doesn’t look weird after a vertical board is built under the mantel.
You have no idea how excited I was to see the wimpy mantel shelf ripped off the wall!
If you love Brick, you’ll probably hate how I painted mine. I’m not a fan of brick ovens. I’ve wanted marble on this fireplace since the day we moved in, this is my house, not yours, I do what makes me happy 🙂
How To Tile A Fireplace (even If It’s Brick!)
For the fireplace front, I chose a small herringbone pattern marble mosaic from Home Depot. It is completely white and gray in color and has a very beautiful size. Some of them had yellows and browns that I didn’t like, so I went through about 6 different boxes in the store to choose the sheets I wanted. This is very important when choosing a marble tile. Since it is a natural stone, there are many variations. If you don’t like those colors, you should choose carefully.
We also rented a tile for the day at Home Depot. At first we rented a small one and only cut small slabs of marble, but we needed a larger one to handle the 12 x 12 slabs. It’s okay, the pain goes back and forth. Don’t be afraid of a tile saw. It’s really easy to use. Before we get started, let’s read some beautiful tile tips from Sarah of Thrifty Decor Chick who helped a lot.
I love working with these mosaic sheets because you can cover more space in less time and you don’t need to use spacers. Individual pieces are easy to remove by cutting the backing material with scissors if you wish.
The best thing about eggs on such a brick is that you don’t even need to fix the tile adhesive. Because the brick already has holes in it, the tile adheres well. You don’t need a lot of tile adhesive, just stick it on. Especially on these small mosaics, if you put too much glue, it can be a real pain to scrape through the tile.
Diy Brick Fireplace Makeover
I like to keep my life as simple as possible. See how I started the tile in the top left? Instead of having those little gaps, I started with a straight edge from the left side of the roof. But when I drew them all, I knew you didn’t see them, so I didn’t care. Less is better!
Now, working down the perimeter of the oven, cut the right side of the sheet to get a nice straight edge where the oven opening will be. But cutting only one side is much easier and requires less precision than two sides. You won’t have this problem if you use straight edge tiles like subway style. But when dealing with herringbone and method
This time we had to add a box to the oven to house the electrical outlet. Then we add some back board to form the bottom of the box. But we could not get electricity; So we ended it. Fortunately, the herringbone tile fits perfectly but I recommend doing everything once if you can.
Before I give the stove away, I need to unbox it. For this, we attach 1/4-inch stain-grade MDF to the sides using liquid nails.
Tiling Our Fireplace Surround: 2 Day Project, Huge Living Room Update! / Create / Enjoy
We added some flat pre-prime molding to cover the top seam. We used our nail gun, liquid nails and some nail polish to add dimension and stick up to half an inch on the sides.
Subway marble slabs are installed much faster than herringbone. I started on the left and worked my way to the right, only having to make simple straight cuts. Again, the brick had enough texture that I didn’t need to touch the adhesive. So, apply a thin layer of adhesive on the brick and stick the layer down properly. As I mentioned before, if you use too much glue, it will shrink the gaps. I kept it up a few times until I lost the glue I needed. I used an Xacto knife to gently clean out the gaps – and then make sure there was enough space for the debris.
By the way – we don’t measure anything when we cut tile. We trace the shape of the fire and the area around it with a pencil, using it as a template. It’s not always 100% perfect, but it’s more forgiving when you use a matte white crayon (on the other hand, a dark finish is never forgiving!).
Once your tile is all glued, wipe it down with a damp sponge to remove any adhesive. Allow the glue to set for 24 hours before the next step – crap!
How To Tile Over A Brick Fireplace
Grinding is my favorite part of tile flooring. It’s great to see your tile work go from “okay” to “great” in just a few minutes.
When choosing grout, when dealing with small spaces, especially when painting marble, please do not buy sandblasted grout. Marble is very delicate and the sand in the coarse grout will scratch your tiles and ruin the edges. Don’t waste your hard work! Buy unsanded dirt – if you’re new to sanding and it’s not 100% perfect (mine certainly wasn’t!) then definitely go with white sand. Hides all kinds of sins like a cow! I buy dry sand and follow the mixing instructions because I always have trouble finding pre-mixed loose sand. You want it to be very thick and almost spreadable. Wipe off any excess dirt with a damp sponge, and if you’re a big fan of moisture, you don’t want to over-wet and ruin the dirt.
I don’t have a perfect method for applying the perimeter – float it over the wood with a rubber band and work at intervals. I move it back and forth, up and down, until all the gaps are filled. Really work it in there and push the float as it moves across the tile.
When you’re done, use a damp sponge to wipe off the excess. Don’t take too much, don’t overdo it. A white mist covers all the tiles and you work to clean it after the dust has sat for at least 8 – 12 hours.
Diy Tile Fireplace Makeover
The next day, once you’re happy with the coating, you can use a little more water to remove the haze. It usually takes 4 or 5 passes to completely remove the haze. If it’s particularly stubborn, I mix a quarter cup of white vinegar with 6 cups of warm water. It always does the trick to get rid of that last pesky haze! (Don’t use vinegar on marble like my etch – but it works fine on regular ceramic tiles).
When you take your crap, don’t buy it
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