Limestone or marble fireplace?

kellyp

Which should I buy?! Pros and cons of those that have then?

Fallen in love with a limestone fireplace but I’ve 2 young kids and worried about stains etc. Do people find them difficult to maintain/keep clean? Particularly interested to hear from anyone with kids!

Other option is marble/micromarble. Bit more shiny and less character but I’m guessing easier to maintain?

missile

Both materials can be damages or stained. Get whichever you like best and accept !!!! can happen and you may need to replace it.

Your home insurance may cover accidental damage, but not wear and tear.

Furts

Limestone is porous. It will get marked - there is oil and wax on ours. Nothing I can do about this. I did coat the stone once but after a while this vanished - perhaps next time, whenever,I will use a different product to coat it.

Personally I view your query from a typical man's perspective. Which means I say "it is only a fireplace - who cares what it is made of? It is a functional item there to serve a purpose." Of course, my wife might view matters in a different light!

Depends how hot the fireplace gets - research what marble is like with high temperatures. Not something I have looked into.

FreeBear

Furts wrote: »

Depends how hot the fireplace gets - research what marble is like with high temperatures. Not something I have looked into.

I have an inset multifuel stove and can confirm that temperatures around the fire can get extremely hot - Within 100mm above the fire, I have measured in excess of 180°C (the record so far is 210°C). At a point of 500mm above the fire, the temperature is often in the region of 60-85°C.

Micromarble (a mix of resin & marble powders) won't last long if exposed to elevated temperatures. Limestone and marble (which is also a type of limestone) will take the heat, but may suffer from hairline cracking close to the fire - Much depends on how close to the fire the materials are going to get.

My fireplace is probably a little extreme, as the wall finish is flush with the stove and there is no mantlepiece or surround. Just polished lime plaster from floor to ceiling.

Davesnave

I have a limestone fire surround with a slate hearth, on which stands a 5kW wood burner. It's been there 2 winters now and there is no apparent cracking on the surfaces that become very hot.

I understand limestone's softness means that a blow from something heavy may result in chipping, especially on edges. If this happens, one can buy special kits of powdered limestone filler and effect a repair.

I haven't used the repair paste to fix any chips, but I've used it to fill the cracks between the surround and the wall. It sands down easily and the fill isn't very noticeable.

As for staining, that's why we went for a slate hearth; real fires are messy by nature; and so are grandchildren.

tired_dad

Multi fuel burner with cast iron surround and limestone fireplace. It looks lovely. When used (occasionally as we have gfch) the cast iron surround gets piping hot. The limestone warms up a bit.

I take extreme care of the limestone. Always vacuum up after use to pick up loose ash. Its porus so avoid water as that will dissolve ash and soak in.

We found a limestone cleaning pad (I think from Lakeland) that was amazing and use that every few years.

Ours looks great after 4y. However probably not good if solid fuel and daily use.

djp64

We have a limestone fireplace, no kids but 2 cats and a clumsy human.
We coated it with a product called Lithofin MN Stain Stop.
Have managed to spill essential oils on it, got dead match residue on it - presume sulphur based etc and have washed it off with warm soapy water.
P6000 sandpaper works a treat at getting out any small surface stains.

Debbie