Polished concrete for hearth?

[ListWriter]

We're currently organising the fitting of a woodburning stove for our office. We've chosen the stove (going for Charnwood Cove) but have struggled with picking a hearth.

We wanted something easy to keep clean, relatively simple rather than overly fussy, and not too pricey. We stumbled across the idea of polished concrete.

We're quite liking something like this

Has anyone had anything similar done? Or as anyone got any advice really?

I looked into polished concrete a while back for my hearth, and showed that exact picture to my fitter! Turned out it was astronomically expensive, and very difficult to get done in my part of the world (Sheffield). It was far cheaper to get slate! I thought about doing it myself, but read that home-poured concrete is more liable to crack under heat.

If you are in London, or money is no object, it may be easier.

No idea about concrete, but we got an absolutely plain, black quarry tiled hearth (see top example here: www.c20fireplaces.co.uk/hearths/quarry-tile-fireplace-hearths). No problems keeping it clean, and it fits really well with the pared back styling of our stove (this www.whatstove.co.uk/westfire-series-one-stove-reviews).

I got a quote for £235 + vat for a concrete one - not as thick as the one in the pic, only 4cm. But it's another £200 for delivery!

How much did your slate ones cost? And had it scratched at all? I read online it can scratch quite easily - not sure if that's true...?

Ps brown sauce, any chance of reporting those links? They don't seem to work.

We did a slate hearth ourselves, using large slate tiles. cost maybe £30 as we got the tiles on special offer. The slate does need sealing, but it was really no hassle.

That would definitely be a possibility but the stove will be set in front of exposed bricks so we really wanted as little detail on the hearth as poss. Tiles sound bargainous but the grout feels too like it might be too much (v simple taste).

We used dark grey grout so it's not very noticeable.

Hi - my slate hearth cost £300ish supplied and fitted.

One major consideration for me was practicality because I am a really lazy cow! I love the look of concrete best, but couldn't get it affordably. I also liked the 'softer' look of Derbyshire stone hearths, but the rock is porous so they can stain permanently (this can look nice in the right setting but wasn't what I was after). Granite is a bit too shiny and 'perfect' for the look I'm going for, and I didn't want the grout lines that tiles would entail. Slate seemed a good compromise. It can mark/scratch, but you can get this oil stuff to clean it: you literally just rub it on and it comes up all shiny in no time at all. It has a naturally uneven surface so is quite forgiving.

God, I am lazy.

We tried to go and look at some slate at the weekend. Got waylaid because granite was cheaper (who knew?!) but then got home, decided the unpolished granite was too black and the polished granite was too fussy. Have emailed the place now for a quote for the slate.

DH has ruled out tiles, he doesn't want the grout either. I would love the paler stones but am scared of it marking (also lazy!).

I am annoying myself with this. We just seem to be going round in circles.

Awwww, don't be annoyed with yourself! These things require some careful thought. Better to go round in circles a bit now than get something put in that you hate and then have to live with!

One other thing that occurs to me that I should have said earlier: your stove fitter may have contacts to be able to get the stone cheaper than you would be able to, so it's worth talking to her/him first. If you are buying a stove from a place with a shop, they may also have options. (This is how I got mine!)

He did give us some contacts but they weren't places we'd be able to get discounts - more places he thought were good.

Still waiting on the slate quote and am emailing a few more people about polished concrete today. The concrete price in itself wasn't horrendous - probably going to be on a par with slate. Maybe if I find somewhere closer, I can get the price down.

If you find somewhere closer, you might also be able to pick it up and save the delivery charge (though I guess you'll need a pretty sturdy car with decent suspension for the weight!!). Good luck! I'd love to see a pic of the finished result :)

I was wondering about picking it up but wasn't sure if our car would manage it! I'll keep you posted, and upload a pic once it's done - we're booked in for the December. Thanks loads for all your help (on hearths and driveways!)

Would you believe it? The slate comes in at £401 (no delivery cos it's round the corner) and the polished concrete comes in at £409 (including delivery).

ooooohhhh! Are you going to go for the concrete?

I think either will look amazing with your stove!

Concrete ordered! Oh yes!

Unbelievably, had another quote at £1400 including delivery even though they're closer! We're sticking with the original guys but going to go and pick it up ourselves.

We have had two hearths done both in a dark polished concrete by these guys www.concretetuesdays.co.uk/ they were expensive but we really wanted that designer concrete look. Could not recommend these people more.