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My flat is an old Glasgow tenement flat built around 1900. When I bought the place, the fireplace had been badly covered. I now want to do the fireplace up so removed the covering. enter image description here

I am planning to:

  • cover over the fireplace recess with a sheet of plasterboard and skim the wall
  • tile the fireplace hearth with victorian style mosaic tiles
  • install a victorian cast iron radiator on the hearth and a wooden mantlepiece

Mosaic tiles on hearth I would like a mosaic tile hearth similar to this.

The existing hearth is uneven and has cut outs in the corners. It lies approximately 1cm proud of the wooden floor, and extends back into the fireplace recess.

Should I:

  • remove the old hearth completely and pour a new base for the tiles
  • somehow fill and flatten the old hearth and cover with the tiles

Any other suggestions or comments are welcome.

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  • Is the current hearth just concrete? If possible, a flush hearth is definitely worth the effort, corners like that are a magnet for the toe-breaking faeries.
    – IronEagle
    Commented Jul 23, 2020 at 2:11

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You’ll need to determine the cause of the broken tile, or you’ll need to remove everything down to a solid base.

The broken tiles could be from: 1) settlement, 2) heat expansion, 3) bad original installation, 4) extra heavy load applied, 5) tenant vandalism

BTW, when you add your wall base, mortar, grout, etc., make sure it’s resistant to heat. Otherwise it will sag when heated.

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  • Thanks for your comment. My hearth isn't tiled yet - I'm planning to do that. I first need to repair the hearth so there is a solid base to tile on top of.
    – peteretep
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 18:28

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