Removing brick hearth

18 years ago

Sorry no pictures. I was hoping someone here could answer a question for me regarding what is under a built up hearth? I have a massive floor to ceiling red brick fireplace. It appears more massive simply because it is in a small room. I have tossed around the idea of removing the built up brick hearth, carefully extracting the bricks in case they will be needed, and pouring cement for a floor level hearth. I am fairly positive the hearth is not solid brick (house built in 1981-82) but what kind of frame would they possibly have used? And what would the floor be under the brick hearth? I love the brick fireplace, but the hearth is 12" high and whatever the width of the fireplace is. It takes up valuable space in a small room. If there is a way that this hearth can be taken out I would appreciate any and all advice. TIA

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

ventupete
18 years ago
It's probably constructed of 2x4's with a plywood top and the brick is layed on that (there might be a cement board also). Under it is probably just a sub-floor, in other words whether you have carpet or wood in the room they wouldn't have finished the floor under the hearth. You wouldn't need to pour cement. You can just rebuild the hearth at floor level using cement board (hardiboard or wonderboard) and brick or some other non-combustible material (ceramic tile, stone, etc). All this being said until you demolish it there is no sure way to know what's underneath!
MongoCT
18 years ago
I posted a couple of pics on your other thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: same thread
Related Professionals
Columbine Fireplaces · Van Wert Interior Designers & Decorators · Citrus Heights General Contractors · Coshocton General Contractors · Enumclaw General Contractors · Florida City General Contractors · Groton General Contractors · Lake Forest Park General Contractors · Norristown General Contractors · Ravenna General Contractors · Riverdale General Contractors · Saint George General Contractors · Seabrook General Contractors · Signal Hill General Contractors · York Lighting
bkcwzy
16 years ago
i'm having the same problem. i've posted under a couple threads to try to get some suggestions.
I have a floor to ceiling brick fireplace that is painted white. The hearth is 9" high. I need to tear down the hearth. It doesn't work with a toddler trying to "help" a crawling 8 month old. Tried babyproofing it, but no adhesive lasts that is eventually removable. Any suggestions what to do with this thing. I don't want to rip out the hearth and end up just put tile on the floor and it looking like crap, but I've got to do something soon.
long_todo_list
16 years ago
Ahh kids; they have a way of finding the hardest/sharpest surface to collide with... Mine's 2 now, but we just kept her away from our fireplace since we never use the room. My parents watch her a lot and their hearth was right in the middle of the play area. They had problems with the adhesive strips that come with those foam rubber guards too, so my dad used liquid nails to glue the stuff down. When they went to remove it, they used some solvent to clean the gunk off the brick. Since yours is painted, you could probably take a belt sander to the bricks when it comes time to remove it and just repaint them. If you don't REALLY want to take out the hearth, don't. My whole body is aching now from taking down a fireplace similar to yours.
ziggysbamboo
16 years ago
How about removing the hearth to floor level and installing pre finished wood floring with matching end cap molding. You could pick something close to the color of the crown molding so it ties together.