Anyone ever installed a hearth themselves? Feeling brave....

[lilQuidditchKel]

We have a plain, naked concrete bit in front of our (real) gas fire and it's begging for a hearth. I've found a lovely black granite one on Ebay and figure I could pop some self-levelling compound below and just stick it on....

any thoughts?

I've done it. A massive, stone hearth. It was incredibly heavy. We needed a pulley and it was really hard work.

It depends on just how heavy it is I suppose.

Never ever stick it on though. The fire will cause movement and the way you put the hearth on has to allow for this movement.

wow you have my admiration. a pulley!

how big was yours?

good point about the sticking. interesting. perhaps just a lot of blue tac...

It was about six foot tall and wide, but it did come in several pieces. The killer was the mantlepiece (six foot long, and about a foot square across).

It didn't need anything to stick it together, just gravity and it's weight.

I have installed a wood hearth over a gas fire, and that was hooked onto screws on the wall. Don't think that would be solid enough for granite though...but I'm guessing something a bit like that.

I tiled mine - the back was a traditional black surround (that also needed new tiles) - now looks fab . You can get loads of traditional type hearth tiles so depends on your stylee preferences (probably modern too).

tell me more! how big were the tiles you laid? what sort of ground did you lay them on? what surface was your floor to start with?

Oh, yeah, I did a tiled one too (around a stove type thing.

I used big hearth tiles (about a foot square) and the mortar you use for building barbecues (also for the grouting)

However, the stove came with a special metal bit to hide the dilation joints, so probably much easier that way.