If possible you should remove the existing mantel for easier tile.
Tiling over brick hearth.
Option b forget the leveling compound and backerboard and just use thinset to level the surface and make the tile adhere.
Which is the better option.
Spread and comb heat resistant mortar on the backerboard bed and starting along an edge with full tiles set.
Option a use some sort of concrete leveling compound to eliminate the uneven quality of the existing brick hearth.
Hearths take a beating.
Cover the hearth with 1 4 backerboard.
Place drop cloths over the hearth and the floor.
Spread the grout over the tiles with a grout float held at a 45 degree angle to the hearth.
How to tile over brick fireplace clean the brick.
Tile over the backerboard using either thinset or one of the plastic adhesives.
Steps for tiling over a brick fireplace.
Mix up a small batch of thin set mortar until it has the consistency of creamy peanut butter.
After doing this surround tiling the hearth and tiling a bathroom floor i finally bought this wet saw to tile my kitchen backsplash and it s great for small jobs like these marble is pretty soft and is known for chipping but i didn t encounter a big problem with that.
How to do it cut bed.
Let the bricks dry for a day or.
Use painter s tape to mask off.
Apply grout and sealer.
Even out the surface.
First of all i must mention that tiling directly on top of brick is an option if your brick is mostly flat without deep mortar lines like mine.
Spread an even layer of thinset mortar over the bricks with a trowel.
Cover the hearth with a drop cloth and remove the mantel and anything else that s attached to the brick.
A tiled hearth needs a sturdy 11 4 inch setting bed to withstand the shock of dropped.
Turn the float closer to 90 degrees to scrape off any excess grout from the surface of the tiles.
How to tile over a brick fireplace step 1.
Smooth out the mortar to create a flat even surface over the bricks filling in any indentations grooves or bumps on the.
If your brick is very uneven has a lot of texture or has deep mortar lines between the bricks you should create an even surface on which to apply the tile by troweling a layer of thinset over the existing material.
Give the entire surface of the brick fireplace a good scrub with a wire brush followed by the vacuum.