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Home Repair Design Dilemma Fireplaces

How should we makeover this fireplace?

2 years ago

Originally we thought we would whitewash this brick corner fireplace in our dining room. However, now noticing how roughed up the brick is (chipped, broken, some extremely rough surfaced). Also, where the brick meets the drywall on either side there are gaps and holes. Would it be better to just cover the brick up with another material? Or if we whitewash, how would we fill those gaps and holes on either side where it meets drywall and would we need to worry about all the chipped and rough brick?

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Comments (4)

mindshift
2 years ago
A couple of relatively new products that allow "painting" of brick with mineral-based color would allow you to fix both the voids along the edge, change or adjust the color, and redefine damaged bricks as having character.

PermaTint has both a semi-transparent and a solid mineral stain that can be tinted to multiple colors. Click on PRODUCTS, then See Full Color Chart. Another company, Romabio, has a solid and a textured solid mineral stain as well as a limewash. There are 15 ready-mixed colors, but according to the site, local stores selling this paint can provide a multitude of colors. Contact the companies with questions not answered on their sites. Using either brand would allow you to fill in the mortar voids, then color them when you color the brick. This solves the problem of differences in new and old mortar color.

One other product, DyeBrick, has mineral stain products for both mortar and bricks. It's based in Britain, but can be shipped to Canada and the U.S. usually in 8-12 days.
cat_ky
2 years ago
The brick were installed with the chips. Its to make them look old, by choice. You could fill in the holes on the side and use a white wash on it.
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If you are looking for a Wow! factor, the fireplace has a certain Arts and Crafts potential with those brackets holding the mantel shelf. Flank the fireplace with two substantial built-in looking bookcases about 3/4 the height of the fireplace. The stone does not look natural - is it concrete? I would tile it over with earth-toned tiles with a hand-glazed look, all but the brackets, the shelf, and the tiles on the flat surface of the hearth. If only the brackets are exposed, they'll look natural enough. Perhaps a couple of decorative tiles in there also. Or you could stucco over the stone. Paint the firescreen dark bronze or black. A couple of sconces over the book shelves. There should not be that much soot deposited over the opening. Either there was a bad one-time flare-up or there are chronic problems with a smoking chimney.
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I was going to suggest the same thing that groveraxle seems to have suggested - eliminate the stone on the side walls. The stone appears to be thin veneer that is likely glued in place. Instead of painting I might suggest using a German smear technique similar to the photo posted below.
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The third picture is a screenshot of one idea. Also, the door and window beside it will be replaced with a large sliding door.
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PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
2 years ago
There are many ways to resurface that fireplace with any material of your choice, wood with nice trim detail, sheetrock, tile, cultural stone, etc.

Here is an example of fireplace resurface from one of the jobs I did to give you an idea of what is involved

This was an original fireplace

The rest is self-explanatory in your case it would be a bit different depending on what materials you want to finish it

As you can see the brick portion of it was grouted to prep the surface for tile

In this case, the customer wanted the entire surface to be tiled

Good luck
PRO
Norwood Architects
2 years ago
Would suggest a German smear technique which is essentially applying mortar to the surface of brick or stone to lighten it. It will also smooth out some of the roughness of the brick and fill in cracks. For the gaps between brick and wall you might be able to use a gypsum board (sheetrock) patch kit. Below is an example of the German smear technique but this is with stone instead of brick. You should be able to find examples online with a google search. Good luck!

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