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Discussion Forum

Covering Brick Fireplace.

dougco | Posted in Construction Techniques on September 4, 2005 01:17am

I have a brick fireplace that creates a column exposed on all sides separting a living room from an entry hall. I wish to totally cover the brick and replace the brady bunch look mantle with a more classic look.  The ceiling in the two rooms are 10 feet. I want the finished look to match the skim coat sheetrock in the rest of the room. I also want the minimal possible buildup. The brickwork is 6 feet wide and about 30 inches deep. I have read about parging and plaster, etc. I would not need to run this material right to the opening of the firebox, as that will be stone or tile of some sort out to code minimums for combustible materials. I wonder if Wonderboard applied to the brick and then taped and cemented joints, as per tile job with sheetrock laminated as a finish coat would work? Any other ideas?even the build up of the Wonderboard and 1/2 inch sheetrock is getting fatter than I hoped for. I thought to aplly the SR with a flexible adhesive that would let the WB substrate move a little from the expansion/contraction. I also thought that 10 foot SR would mean no field joints on the sides, and only one horizontal field joint at 5 feet on the back,and the front joint covered by the mantle. The corners are an issue if expansion is an issue more than I think.

I appreciate any insight those more experienced could offer.


Edited 9/3/2005 6:24 pm ET by dougco

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  1. Piffin | Sep 04, 2005 01:59am | #1

    if you want to abandon the FP and still keep the look, just cut a cement baker baord panel to fit within the openning and set it with PL Premium or mortar,

    Next day you can use black grout to skim it over.

    done

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. dougco | Sep 04, 2005 02:47am | #2

      Perhaps I wasn't clear. I want to keep the FP. Instead of the current exposed, deep mortared brick, I want to make it look like finished plaster. I will then replace the 70's mantle with a more classic built up mantle, frieze, etc. I had lined up a guy to parge the brick to essentiallly fill the mortar joints flush to the brick and then smooth coat, but he was a stucco guy and said that his 'smooth' and plaster wall smooth were not the same. I want plaster wall smooth, with minimal dimensional build up. Otherwise I would steel stud and sheetrock a wall around the FP. I want no more than a 1 inch dimension increase of the existing FP dimensions, because of a floor pattern, etc. Can I attach the Wonderboard directly to the brick (and if so, how?) and then attach a 3/8 drywall panel over? Or fiberglass mesh and skim coat the Wonderboard directly?

      Thanks for your time. I see you post frequently here.

      1. FastEddie | Sep 04, 2005 02:55am | #3

        Skip the sheetrock.  Fasten 1/2" cement board or hardiebacker to the fireplace with a layer of thinset and tapcons.  Then skimcoat the cement board with plaster.

          

        "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

        1. dougco | Sep 04, 2005 05:29am | #7

          Fast Eddie,

          I like the simplicity and thinness of your answer. My concern is that the seams of the backer board will move with the thermal movement of the fireplace, and there will always be cracks over these joints. Am I crazy? Is there a material similar to metal lath in fiberglass or some other thin material that can cover the backer board? Kind of like a very wide version of the 2 inch mesh wall board joint tape that is applied like a lath? That's why I thought to have the 3/8 sheetrock glued or buttered onto the backer board...to span the joints and help prevent cracks from appearing. Or is there a chopped fiber I can add to the first skim of the skimcoat to help it resist cracking?

          Doug C.

          1. Piffin | Sep 05, 2005 02:01am | #8

            You have a fireplace. That means that whatever you use has to be fireproof. paper tape is not. Fibreglas is not. Cement and limne based products are. Sheetrock would last for about one fire in there. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          2. dougco | Sep 05, 2005 04:57am | #9

            I am not considering employing any materials in the fire box area. I am not considering any modifications to anything other than the brickwork outside of the firebox. All materials I would employ would be beyond the holdbacks required by local code from the fireplace opening ( memory tells me 12 inches over the opening and 9 inches each side).

          3. Piffin | Sep 05, 2005 05:16pm | #10

            I re-read your original again and apologize for my mis-understanding the situation. You were perfectly clear. That said, The plaster oercoating after washing and possibly a bonding agent is still the best solution. I wouldn't even think of doing it any other way. The only open option in my mind is whether to use expanded metal or go straight onto the brick. That would take an eyeball on site to determine along with the personal preferences of the plasterer. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          4. custombuilt | Sep 06, 2005 09:54pm | #11

            Why not just parge it with cement plaster?  The do it all the time down here (peru)

            I had really not seen it before, called tarrajeo in spanish........no wire mesh, they just mix up cement plaster (4 parts fine sand to 1 part porland)  and throw it onto the wall (literaly) with a trowel.  Then use an aluminun straight edge (screet) to work it smooth, and finish with a flat trowel.

            Its a one coat finish, on top of brick, and it looks really good, and won't come off for a lifetime.  They put ceramics right on top too.

             When in doubt, get a bigger hammer!

      2. User avater
        Dinosaur | Sep 04, 2005 03:02am | #4

        There's no reason you can't plaster directly over the brick. This was done all the time on the interiors of structural brick tenements. Aside from pocks and dings caused by the tenants, those plaster jobs have lasted close to or over a hundred years. In fact, in the 70s in NYC, it was the fashion among the 'granola set' to strip the plaster to expose the brick...and I can tell you from personal experience that that was quite a job.

        But you will need to find a plasterer, not just a gyprock guy who does a little plaster repair from time to time. You'll need to have a traditional 3-coat plaster job done, so find somebody who knows how to do that and has experience.

        That will give you pretty much everything you're asking for: code compliance for fire issues; minimum build-up; and interior-grade finish.

        Dinosaur

        A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...

        But it is not this day.

      3. Piffin | Sep 04, 2005 03:04am | #5

        I misunderstood. Start by washing the masonry well with muriatic acid, then rinse with water, then wash with TSP, then rinse with water shoot some expanded metal mesh onto the brick with cut nails or use Tapcons with washersTrowel on a refractory cement over the brick for ascratch coat. Brown coat and smooth caot can be done with finish plaster, making sure not to add a drop more water than necessary. Excessive moisture encourages cracking.The mantle is a different thing. Seaarch for prebuilt kits ( wood or stone) or hire a carp with experience to design and build one for you 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  2. peteduffy | Sep 04, 2005 04:16am | #6

    I'm looking at a job, neighbor has a dark brick wall that they want to be lightened up, so that is why this thread interested me.

    I told neighbor that painting usually isn't a good choice, since you can never go back, and you'll always have to paint it, and it will look like painted brick.  Furring it out to add drywall, same thing.  You'll never get the glue or screw holes out if you ever want to go back to brick. 

    Another neighbor is a 4th generation plaster.  Does it all, plaster, stucco, etc.

    He said no problem plastering directly over brick.  Has done it many many times.

    By the time you furr it out, add drywall, tape, mud, etc. it'll be easier & cheaper to just plaster directly over the brick.  But you need a real plasterer, like mentioned in an earlier post, with the brown (or scratch coat, and it's not the color) coat and finish coats.

    Good luck.

    Pete Duffy, Handyman

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