Ok, I had no idea how to search for this,so if someone has a thread they want to refer me to, that would be fine, lol.

I'm going to reface my brick floor to (very high - cathederal)ceiling fireplace with little slate subway tiles 1/2 way up, then put a mantle (will be asking about that later), then finish top with stucco and paint wall color. I am going to put a slab of slate on the raised hearth. The hearth is 4 bricks high (a little more than a foot) off the floor.

Is it going to be less "professional" or less attractive to have the slab of slate not even with the firebox floor? Should I remove the top layer of brick on the hearth? Are there potential negatives to removing the top layer of brick?

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Thanks for any assistance! If every step of my full house remodel is going to be this intricate and frought with questions, y'all will get to know me well, and I may never get done. Been mentally working on this for months already!

Lisa