ceramic tile fireplace surround for zero clearance fireplace?

last year

Hello -

We are in the midst of installing a zero clearance fireplace (Napoleon High Country NZ5000) and exploring options for the fireplace surround. Given the age and style of our home (1902 Colonial Revival), we'd love to use ceramic tile for the surround. Any practical or safety based reason not to do so? Pic below is one we like a lot! Thanks in advance!

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cpartist

last year

@cpartist can I ask if your zero clearance fireplace is by Napoleon, as well, or another manufacturer? Have you been happy with it?

Not Napoleon. I forgot who but it's a Canadian brand. We live in FL and have used it maybe a dozen times in the 4 years we've been here. Usually just for ambiance. We put it in because we built a craftsman style home and it goes with the style of the house. :)

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Comments (19)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Can we see your FP and your room.
18florence
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thank you responding! Here is the open wall and a couple pictures from before we started.
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I built a surround, mantel and overmantel using MDF, various moldings and honed travertine tiles (filled). I don't know how to post pictures, but, if you e-mail me I'd be glad to send you some. To answer your questions: You can install the travertine directly on the drywall using fortified thinset (don't buy the pre-mixed kind). Just make sure the drywall is well anchored, I drove some extra drywall screws into the studs before installing the travertine. I didn't seal my tiles, but, the honed finish is smoother than what you have. The reason to seal before grouting is that the sealant acts as a grout release and makes it easier to clean the grout from the tiles. With rough tiles I've found it helps to keep a water spray bottle handy which you can use to flush out any grout that gets in the holes before it sets. 1/8" spacing is good, however, if your tiles have rough edges you may have to go to 3/16". On the hearth you need plywood for strength and then you should put down some wonderboard or hardiboard. This is because code usually requires at least 1" of non-combustible material on the hearth (check your local code to be sure what the requirement is). You meet the requirement by calculating the thickness of your tile plus the thickness of the thinset (1/8' - 1/4") plus the thickness of the cement board. You should err on the high side. Hearths can get pretty hot, so the thicker the non-combustible layer the better (it acts like an insulator). Also remember to check your local code on the required clearances from the firebox opnening to the mantel and surround. In most jurisdictions this is 12" (for non-combustible materials). I used some corbels that are closer but I bought some made out of molded stone that are non-combustible.
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I'm putting a flat panel over my TV, too, with a frame and some art that will pull down to keep it out of sight when not wanted. It allows all the seating of the room to be oriented in the same direction, which is also the 'veiw wall' in my house-- I won't have multiple focal points fighting for attention. BUT I have a backup plan: the wiring will also run to my 'second choice' location, in case turns out that the anti-above-the-TV people have a point. My fp is in a 'chase' [FP salesman told me that's the right word for installing it outside the footprint of the room], just like yours. I think it is very likely that I won't be able to have the FP and TV on at the same time. At least for plasma screens, 95 degrees is supposed to be some kind of magic number: warmer than that, and the tv suffers. How this translates to those who have plasmas but no AC is a mystery to me. Still, I'll go with an LCD, which is supposed to be more mechanically robust, and I'll keep a thermometer up there the first few times I try to run them at the same time. If your fp will accomodate it, a blower with ductwork that would carry some of the heat to a secondary location might be a good idea. I think it would be easier if the FP wasn't in a chase: you could have some vents etc. on the side to conduct cooler air to the tv area, warm air away from it. As to storage, though: I agree it would be tunnel like and ruin the look of a chased fireplace. The wall o' shelving/cabs thing mostly developed as a way to make fireplaces look like they were in chases when they weren't. Remember too that 'zero clearance' refers to the firebox: there are rules about the setback for protrusions at 90degrees to the fireplace face, varies depending on model, should be in your owner's manual. Perhaps you could have some matching cabs in the corners, as far from the FP as possible, with no connecting elements... My plan is to put the equipment in a bench like unit beside the FP, sort of like an extension of my raised hearth. It will have a kind of traditional look, as if its main function is to cuddle up as near the FP as possible. The equipment itself isn't attractive, so the less I see of it the better, and this will keep it below eye level. Haven't quite figured out how to face this bench, though; I want something to obscure the equipment, but still allow the remote control signals to penetrate. I'm thinking mission style slats backed by sheer black fabric might do it, though I hope a better solution will present itself. The media itself can be further away, in a cabinet outside the fireplace zone. Not ideal, but workable, I think.
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elcieg
last year
I associate Victorian with a subway tile, gloss finish, smaller size.
18florence thanked elcieg
18florence
Original Author
last year
I do, also, that's likely the direction we'd want to go in. I've been frustrated as our contractor insists it can't be done and that a stone surround would be more appropriate and practical. If ceramic tile is an option, that's what I'd like to do - he keeps saying that the heat of the fire will be "too hot." The picture I posted upthread was just to give an idea of the very saturated color I like, and a floating mantel atop tiled surround. It's not a huge wall, so I'm thinking we shouldn't do a huge/full mantel. Thanks for responding!
wishiwereintheup
last year
Both examples (deep color green and blue) are beautiful with the smaller tiles. If you end up with a lot of space around the fireplace opening (as in the green example) you could insert a few other tiles with a relief, like rosettes, very close in color to the other tiles, to make it interesting and special.

Here's one example I found that also has a tile pattern. It wouldn't necessarily have to be even this elaborate. Those 3 floral tiles alone add a lot of interest. I wasn't able to find one with a painted mantel, but you probably get the idea.
18florence thanked wishiwereintheup
18florence
Original Author
last year
love that pic - will save, for sure!
elcieg
last year
last modified: last year
Tell your contractor he's out to lunch on this one. How does he think ceramic tiles are made?

Ceramic. Ceramic has been used on fireplace surrounds and hearths for hundreds of years. Decorative tiles were especially popular in the late 19th century. Ceramic withstands heat well and is durable enough to withstand the demands of the fireplace.
18florence thanked elcieg
cpartist
last year
Your contractor is full of bull pucky. A stone surround is easier for him to do. Go find a talented tile installer to do yours. That's what I did.

he keeps saying that the heat of the fire will be "too hot."

Boy is he showing his ignorance. Does he realize that quality ceramic tile is fired in kilns where the temperature is much hotter than anything you'd generate from a home fireplace? Sheesh.

Here's my zero clearance fireplace built into my new house 4 years ago

. Tiles are Rookwood. There are lots of choices from several wonderful manufacturers.
18florence
Original Author
last year
Omg I LOVE Rookwood tiles! Yours are just gorgeous. Yeah, situation with the contractor is bizarre!
palimpsest
last year
Zero Clearance means you should be able to use regular building materials right up to the firebox. That's what zero clearance means. This means regular framing and drywall.
18florence thanked palimpsest
palimpsest
last year
Ceramic tile is fired at 1000-1250F. If the surface of your fireplace surround gets to this temperature you've got bigger problems than cracking tile.
18florence
Original Author
last year
Thank you for the reassuring responses - I feel like I've been losing my mind with this! Palimpsest - I'd been thinking the same thing - isn't that the whole point of the zero clearance fireplace? I've been second guessing myself, because he's so insistent...and yet here I am, filling my houzz pics and pinterest boards with images of tiled fireplace surrounds!
cpartist
last year
Omg I LOVE Rookwood tiles! Yours are just gorgeous. Yeah, situation with the contractor is bizarre!

Rookwood is fabulous. I spoke with their designers and they were able to design the layout fo the tiles for me based on my budget and what I was wanting with the roses and leaves.

It's not bizarre. it's either that he hasn't a clue how to lay tile or more likely doesn't want to spend the money on a talented tile installer. My tile installation if I recall took a full day just for the tiles. Then grouting took another bit of time.
18florence thanked cpartist
18florence
Original Author
last year
@cpartist can I ask if your zero clearance fireplace is by Napoleon, as well, or another manufacturer? Have you been happy with it?
Lorraine Leroux
last year
Review the specification yourself on the install and look at the combustible clearances needed for the unit and yes ceramic tile are non-combustible.

https://www.napoleon.com/sites/default/files/fireplaces_products/W415-2955_NZ5000%20Spec%20Sheet_-e-f_02.08.22.pdf
18florence thanked Lorraine Leroux
18florence
Original Author
last year
Really helpful, Lorraine, thank you. If I am reading this correctly, there is no indication that ceramic tile would not be acceptable?
18florence
Original Author
last year
Gotcha! Thanks, cpartist.
PRO
Norwood Architects
last year
Don't think there should be a problem with using tile. As others have pointed out tile is fired in a kiln at high temps. The fireplace shouldn't be generating temps as high as that.
18florence thanked Norwood Architects

ceramic tile fireplace surround for zero clearance fireplace?

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