drywall over brick fireplace
I want to update my brick floor to ceiling fireplace by putting drywall over brick and painting it white. I'd like to add a floating mantel, leave the Spanish tile on fireplace surround. I don't know if putting drywall, even if it's fire rated, is safe on gas fireplace. My goal is to simplify and modernize the look, keeping a Spanish feel to it. Any advice would be welcome.
Comments (19)
Angela Zuill
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agoI wonder how a stucco fireplace might look with your tile?
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Need advice on refacing huge stone fireplace
Comments (4)You can do it the way you suggest although it may be difficult to attach the plywood (near the firebox opening you can use cement board which meets the code requirements for non-combusitble materials). However, I would suggest that you use mortar, and trowel it on in a sufficient quantity so that it fills up the irregularities and mortar joints and you end up with a reasonably smooth surface. You may have to do it in two coats - first partially filling in the recesses and then a finish coat - the reason is that otherwise a thick coat may sag before it dries. Then you will end up with a surface that is perfect for adhering stone or ceramic tiles to (and it won't stick out into the room as far as a plywood overlay), or even dry wall if you use lead or plastic anchors. This assumes that the existing stone has not been coated with something that will cause the mortar not to stick. If it has, you can use fortified thinset mortar, although it is messier to work with. Hope this helps. Also, since it's 15 feet high you will need a sturdy ladder or even scaffolding (cheap to rent) since the mortar is heavy and you need leverage to apply it....See MorePaint a Fireplace While I Wait?
Comments (10)That brick isn't bad; there's just an huge amount of it. Sweet-Tea: +1 If you paint it than it should be towards minimizing the effect, not towards just hiding the brick. You may like the new look enough to not obliterate the brick texture. From that pic I can see wanting to cover it up, but maybe "covering it up" and "reducing the visual impact" are two separate things. In other words, painting now and living with it for a short while may be cheaper, simpler, less disruptive, and enough. There are a gazillion ways to cover brick, but every single one of them is just-about-permanent because it's hard to undo such work. Drywall mud skim coating will be permanent and reliable if you have uncracked brick and mortar. Gluing on Sheetrock works, and, in fact, you can use drywall mud as an adhesive as it can be removed (messy!) with a pressure washer in the future. Using furring strips will do probably the least amount of damage to the original work. I don't mean to harp on "undoing", but such possibilities can pay off in the future as a possible new owner option if you ever want to sell. Even paint can be undone, but it's a bear......See MoreShould we add drywall on top of this brick wall or keep the brick wall
Comments (13)Leave both the cabinets and the brick. Yours looks better than the picture with the white. If you are determined to do something with the brick, then, no solid color paint, use a paint wash, so it still looks like brick, not flat painted brick....See MoreRepairing drywall over brick and plaster
Comments (2)Ripped Jeans Construction, thank you! One fear I have is finish quality. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like if I just plaster the wall, I might not be able to make the outer surface neat due to inexperience. Again, I may be wrong, but it feels like putting drywall on top of the plaster will make the finished surface neater since the drywall is already an even, smooth surface. Is this correct, or is doing a smooth finish to the plaster easier than I think?...See More
btydrvn
2 months agoJane Kravitz
2 months ago- PRO
Adama Engineering
2 months ago 
PROHALLETT & Co.
2 months ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 months ago Jane Kravitz
2 months ago
PROZ & L Construction LLC.
2 months agomojavemaria
2 months agoci_lantro
2 months agoJane Kravitz
2 months agomojavemaria
2 months agoI can show you a before and mockup of after but right now its a temporary surround I built from leftover plywood because I was tired of looking at a ripped off fireplace surround!
After many trips to tile stores and stoneyards and a lot of mockups we came up with a plan. Unfortunately even with three visits from us we can’t get a price out of a local cast concrete shop so I finally yesterday talked my husband our building a frame for the concrete board and a limewash over it ourselves. We did stacked stone on cementboard in a previous house but wanted something different.
It’s nice to have a plan in place before you demo but not absolutely necessary. We ripped ours off early because we had a wood stove insert installed. You may be able to get fire rated sheetrock if that would be easier for you.
Jane Kravitz
2 months ago
Paul F.