How to tile a fireplace?

akira181

I’m getting the hearth to my fireplace replaced as it’s pretty broken and I’d like to freshen up the look of the fireplace recess. The woodburner is getting taken out soon and I’d like to tile the recess before it gets put back in.

I’ll be using porcelain tiles for the heat resistance but I’m unsure how to prepare the surface of the recess for tiling, which is currently sooty brick. I’d like to keep the recess as large as possible so I’m trying to avoid using a cement backerboard if possbile.

After I've cleaned the brick as much as possible, can I just apply a heat resistant thinset to the brick and tile directly on?

Or do I need to apply a layer of fire cement to the brick first before tiling?

FreeBear

A tile backer board will give you the best surface to tile on to - These come in different thicknesses (6, 9.5 & 12mm). A combination of adhesive & mechanical fixings would ensure the board stays in place.

If you wanted to avoid the use of a tile backer board, give the bricks a real good scrub with a wire brush to get as much of the soot off as possible. I'd give the bricks a thin coat of thin-set after applying a suitable primer (BAL or Weber, not PVA). Let it go hard, then tile on top.

akira181

6mm backer board will be Plan B. I think the recess is already a little small for the woodburner, so I'd like to avoid losing 6mm + the tile thickness on all sides if possible.

I'll get shopping for some fireproof primer and thinset