Fireplace tile surround and mantel help
My question concerns how a tiled fireplace surround should meet up with a wooden mantel to be built around it.
I have a masonry fireplace set into a brick wall. The entire wall (floor to ceiling) is made out of brick. I want to add a tile surround around the fireplace opening. I want to cover the rest of the brick wall with drywall, which I will screw into 3/4″ wooden furring strips that I will attach to the brick wall. I want to add a wooden mantel around the tile surround (two pilasters, a frieze board, and a mantel shelf).
I’m not sure if I should butt the mantel edge to the outer edge of the tile surround (leaving a 1/4″ or so gap between the two materials and caulking this gap) or should I just overlap the mantel edge on top of the tile? What would look nicer? I’ll make sure I’ll have at least 12″ between the fireplace opening and any combustible material. Since the front surface of the tile surround will probably sit around 1/4″ from the surface of the brick wall and the front surface of the drywall will sit around 1-1/4″ from the surface of the brick wall (1/2″ drywall plus 3/4″ furring strips), the tile surround will be recessed into the drywall around it. I made a real simple mockup of a pilaster to see how to handle this difference in height and know how to handle this. But I’m not sure if I should butt or overlap the mantel edge onto the tile. If butting is preferred, should I build the mantel first (in-place as four pieces) and then add the tile surround or should this order be reversed? Which method should I use?
Thanks for any help!
Replies
There are several ways to do this, so some of it depends on your aquaintance with the various materials etc.
I would mud plaster directly onto the brick rather than all that work layering furring and sheetrock before getting to the finish.
That way, you also end up with the finished surfaces of plaster and tile in approximately the same plane.
The pilaster legs will typically be about 3-4" deep and 5-6" wide, depending on the proportions of the fireplace openning and the room. So it is a minor detail to have one side be a bit deeper than the other. Normally, I would have the pilaster leg overlapp the tile surrond slightly.
For anchoring to the wall, I usually build those legs as a 'U' shape open at back and then use glue and tapcons to attach a block to the wall. the legs slip over it and fasten into it on the sides. Then the mantle fits to top of them.
Dry fit everything first and do detailed drawings .
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Thanks! I did, in fact, do a mockup of a simple corrugated cardboard pilaster overlapping a single tile and it looked good to me, but I wanted to make sure that this approach was professional looking.
I'm afraid mudding plaster on the wall is outside my skill set, so I'll have to stick with the drywall.
It's not that hard to learn if you can do drywall finishing and are handy with a float. But the dryeall works fine too, as long as this brick wall is not part of firewall assembly or chineys for other fireplaces.
[I'm further up the coast in Penobscot Bay - off Camden]
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What is a firewall assembly? Is that like a party wall between dwellings?
Generically, any wall built to contain fire and or heat. In this instance, perhaps if it is the back wall of another fireplace in an adjoining room.
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