| Installing a Travertine, Marble, Granite or Limestone Natural Stone Fireplace Surround. Brought to you by Cole Farms, Inc. |
The wall tile or slabs that cover the vertical surfaces around a fireplace are called the "surround". The natural stone fireplace surround can be created using either tile or full slabs. Tile are much lighter and easy to work with but if you want fewer grout lines then slabs can be used. We opted for the 18" x 36" tile so that we could benefit from the lighter material while also reducing grout lines.
To apply the tile to the wall, a strong mortar was used to attach the precut tile to the sheetrock. (see picture pages below) On the area above the mantel (which we will cover later) durarock was used. On the area around the actual fireplace this was not needed in that the tile rested on the hearth and did not need durarock to attach to. Also, if we had durarocked the area there would have been a large gap between the tile and the steel part of the fireplace that would have had to have been addressed. In any event, it was not needed for that area but was for the larger area above the mantel.
Tiling the area around the fireplace is one of the simpler parts of the job and would be something that a fairly capable handyman could do. The hearth is also fairly straight forward. It is my opinion that a do it yourself handyman could complete the hearth and basic surround with minimal problems. The mantel, which we will cover next is a different story and I would not recommend attempting to create this without experience. If you are wanting a hearth and are doing it yourself you could consider buying a prefab light weight one that is simply bolted or screwed into the wall above the surround.
You will find below an index of the articles that I have put together on this subject. I have tried to cover building a granite, travertine or marble fireplace hearth, surround and mantle using a step by step approach.
Step by Step Articles on Building a Travertine, Marble or Granite Fireplace Surround.
Intro - An Overview of Designing your Stone Fireplace Surround, Mantel and Hearth - Overview of our articles on Building a Natural Stone Fireplace.
Article 1 - Sketching and Designing your Stone Fireplace Surround - Measuring, planning and sketching out your Natural Stone Fireplace.
Article 2 - Finding an Stone Installer - Choosing a craftsman to build your travertine, marble or granite for your natural stone fireplace.
Article 3 - Finding your Materials - Choosing your travertine, marble or granite for your natural stone fireplace.
Article 4 - Finding your Materials 2 - Finding Marble, Travertine, Granite, Concrete or Cement Columns for your Fireplace
Article 5 - Installing the Fireplace Hearth - Installing your Marble, Travertine, Granite, or Limestore Fireplace Hearth
Article 6 - Installing the Fireplace Surround - Installing a Marble, Travertine, Granite Tile or Slab Fireplace Surround
Article 7 - Installing the Fireplace Mantel - Installing a Marble, Travertine, Granite Tile or Slab Fireplace Mantel
Article 8 - Installing the Fireplace Surround - Installing Wall Tile on a Marble, Travertine, Granite Tile or Slab Fireplace
Article 9 - Grouting the Fireplace Surround - Grouting Wall Tile on a Marble, Travertine, Granite Tile or Slab Fireplace
Article 10 - Enhancing and Sealing your Fireplace Surround - Applying Enhancer/Sealer to your Travertine or Natural Stone Fireplace Surround.
Picture Page 1 - Photos, Pictures, Images of Installing a Marble, Granite, Travertine or Limestone Fireplace Hearth, Mantel and Surround.
Picture Page 2 - Photos, Pictures, Images of Installing a Marble, Granite, Travertine or Limestone Fireplace Hearth, Mantel and Surround.
