I think you need some sort of fire-proof flooring directly in front of the fireplace, to set down logs and hot tools. How about a piece of slate, flush with the new wood flooring, in the same footprint as the old bump-out?

Why not? I've certainly seen it. I think if you do do this, you should consider putting a floor level tile or brick paver (if you can match) hearth instead of running wood all the way. Technically it WILL work. It has been done. It will save you that space.The raised-fireplace-sans-hearth thing may be not the best aesthetic chioce for your room/ brick fireplace/ architecture. I'd think about how it'd look w/ some changes- consider maybe replacing the fireplace screen and/or finishing around the screen w/ some kind of detail- inset rock or tile maybe. It's hard to say without looking at the fireplace in relation to your living space.

I think we had a similar issue. We tore out the long hearth and then the GC covered up all the remaining brick all the way to the ceiling with sheet rock, tape and bedding and then a light orange peel texture. He then built a mantel and surrounded the entire fireplace box with 12" granite, per code here in our city. The granite matches the new granite just installed in our kitchen. The result is stunning. We are very pleased. Good luck!

You might want to check what's code in your location. We just had a fireplace insert put in, and it's now code to go out some 18" from the insert. Our hearth was 16", so we have this metal mat thing in front of the insert, on the floor, now. (we'll see how long we keep it, but it doesn't look too bad).

This may be an issue for you when it comes time to sell your house, and it's inspected.

I did the same identical job. You need a hearth to meet code. I believe it is 20 or 24 inches. I did my job 3 years ago and researched, but I do not recall the exact distance. Actually, there are various codes for numerous measurements on a fireplace..distance to the mantle, thickness the mantle protrudes off the wall, width of the marble or granite surround, etc.

I currently have a brick fireplace with a wood mantel. I would like to cover the brick with marble tiles. Can I attach the tiles to the brick or do I have to add a screen mesh to the brick. What type of adhesive would be best. Any suggestion for the mantel itself would be very much appreciated. I just registered on this web site and I am not sure how to retreive a response.

Thanks
John

You can attach the marble directly to the brick, no screen mesh is needed as long as your bricks have not been painted. We used a pre mixed marble mastic, it took a long time for the mastic to set so we worried about tiles slipping. I believe you can use a thinset mortar, just make sure that your thinset is white if you're using white marble. We made our own mantle because the stock mantles were 5' or 6' and we needed 5'4". You can see the whole process here:

Here is a link that might be useful: fireplace remodel