Tile surround falling off fireplace - need expert advice ASAP

14 years ago

Help, please! We had our fireplace built 4 years ago. Its a 36" direct vent (rear vent) gas Majestic Vermont Castings fireplace. We used a marble tile for the mantel, surround and hearth (which is flush). The pilot light stays lit all the time. The remote switch which was installed on the mantel seems to always be a little more than warm when the fireplace is operating. Is that normal?

FYI - the tiles immediately surrounding the fireplace extend out 3"; then 3" out from that is another frame (same tiles)- kindof a stepped contemporary design. The mantel extends out 6" from the outer frame or 11.5" from the wall.

The other day, I found two of the underneath tiles from the mantel crashed on the floor and I noticed that the side tiles have pulled away and are very loose - as the grout or mortar has completely come loose. Today another tile fell off the front of the mantel. The part of the surround closest to the fireplace doesn't really seem to have issues - its the second surround (the next 3" area) that is crumbling. And that whole surround does get pretty warm. I'm afraid the whole fireplace is going to fall apart.

The fireplace people installed the fireplace. The electrician installed the gas outlet and the remote switch, etc. Our floor installers installed the surround. Who do we need to call? Would it be sufficient for us to just reinstall the tiles (and if so, what do we use - does it have to be specifically heat resistant?) or will this continue to happen? Does the heat loosen the grout and/or mortar? I've never heard of this. We stopped using the fireplace this week because it seems that the heat is what did it. And although we're in Houston, its 20 degrees.

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Comments (4)

tom_p_pa
14 years ago
What surface were the marble tiles attached to (some surfaces are unacceptable for tiling)?

What type of thinset was used?

Properly installed tiles should never pop off.
woodscroft_shaw_ca
13 years ago
exact same thing has happend to us!!! I suspect tiles were not properly applied (wrong adhesive?) and that the heat dried out the stuff the tiler used.....I am surifng the net to try and find some answers.....have you learned anything about how tiles should be installed to withstand extreme heat from gas fireplace?
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giant2130
6 years ago
Any solutions to this? I am having this problem too - the tiles just above the fireplace center are falling off (have repaired once to have it happen again). I suspect the high heat rising up and out the top of the fireplace is causing the wall to expand and contract slightly so that it weakens the mortar and the tiles fall off. Is that possible? Is there a special high heat mortar/mastic?

The fireplace manufacturer said:

The area above the fireplace will get warm, warm enough that you may not want to touch. It is still safe as the area can reach temps of 325 degrees and still be safe. On the tile coming off, [fireplace co] has not had issues like this before. Please make sure that the area of “non combustible” around the fireplace was properly faced over with a non combustible facing and your tile person is using a mastic that will work in high heat areas.
Pascale Delsol
3 years ago
We have this same problem. In our situation the backing that the tile was attached to is PLYWOOD which will constantly expand and contract with fluctuations in temperature and humidity. We are going to have to take all the tiles off and replace the plywood with heat resistant cement board specific for tiling and fireplace installations.