brick cover up
#1
11-02-02, 06:48 PM
brick cover up
I want to resurface my brickfront fireplace. Can I just apply a drywall compound to the brick or do I need to apply a cement board first? We then plan to just paint afterwards. Any good links to find out how to do? never done this type of work before. Thank you
#2
11-17-02, 04:53 PM
We just went through this ourselves. We ended up deciding to sheetrock over the brick. First we screwed some 1- by 2-inch pine firring strips into the brick using plastic-coated masonry screws, after drilling holes with a masonry bit. The screws worked great. Then we used sheetrock screws to attach the sheetrock to the firring strips and then taped, mudded, and painted.
You probably could masonry screw the sheetrock directly to the brick. We would have done that had we known the masonry screws worked so well (screwing them into brick is like screwing a screw into a 2x4).
For the fireplace opening, we left about 4 inches of brick so that the sheetrock wouldn't catch fire. The edge of the sheetrock at the fireplace opening we covered with a metal "j strip" (?) edging piece that slipped right over the sheetrock edge. Over the brick we troweled on some fireplace mortar mixed with a little darkening agent to get a sort of dark gray color.
You probably could troweld on the mortar over the entire brick fireplace, but it would look pretty rough unless you're handy with the trowel, which we weren't.
You probably could masonry screw the sheetrock directly to the brick. We would have done that had we known the masonry screws worked so well (screwing them into brick is like screwing a screw into a 2x4).
For the fireplace opening, we left about 4 inches of brick so that the sheetrock wouldn't catch fire. The edge of the sheetrock at the fireplace opening we covered with a metal "j strip" (?) edging piece that slipped right over the sheetrock edge. Over the brick we troweled on some fireplace mortar mixed with a little darkening agent to get a sort of dark gray color.
You probably could troweld on the mortar over the entire brick fireplace, but it would look pretty rough unless you're handy with the trowel, which we weren't.
#3
11-18-02, 04:39 AM
levcar:
You really should check with the local building department. I am in the planning stage for refacing my fireplace and have been talking quite a bit with the local code folks.
Code in my area (Uniform Building Code, soon to be International Building Code) does not allow any combustibles within 2" of the brick; in other words, you cannot install wood furring directly to the brick. I wanted to install oak over the front of my fireplace, so I had to use 2-1/2" metal studs over the brick to get the wood far enough away from the brick. There are also codes about how far away you have to be from the fireplace opening with combustibles. In my case, I have to be 12" away from the opening; I am planning to cover this 12" area with ceramic or slate tile direct to the brick. Hope this helps.
Bruce
You really should check with the local building department. I am in the planning stage for refacing my fireplace and have been talking quite a bit with the local code folks.
Code in my area (Uniform Building Code, soon to be International Building Code) does not allow any combustibles within 2" of the brick; in other words, you cannot install wood furring directly to the brick. I wanted to install oak over the front of my fireplace, so I had to use 2-1/2" metal studs over the brick to get the wood far enough away from the brick. There are also codes about how far away you have to be from the fireplace opening with combustibles. In my case, I have to be 12" away from the opening; I am planning to cover this 12" area with ceramic or slate tile direct to the brick. Hope this helps.
Bruce
#4
11-18-02, 04:51 AM
Holy cow, ask me what time it is and I tell you how a watch works 
I got distracted by Tom & Lisa's post.
If the brick isn't painted, I would think you could apply a skim coat of joint compound directly over the brick and paint it. I don't believe joint compound is considered combustible; you may want to check with the code folks to be sure, though.
Bruce
I got distracted by Tom & Lisa's post.If the brick isn't painted, I would think you could apply a skim coat of joint compound directly over the brick and paint it. I don't believe joint compound is considered combustible; you may want to check with the code folks to be sure, though.
Bruce
