# Refacing a HUGE Brick Fireplace



## Lyndak76

I need ideas on how to change the look of the fireplace in our living room. It's HUGE! floor to ceiling red/black brick in a curved shape in the corner of the room. it's probably 10-12 feet high & 4-5 feet wide. It's a huge eye sore & since tearing it out isn't an option at this point I need ideas. 

I have thought about painting it or resurfacing it with stucco or something of the sort. 

What is the best thing to do that won't affect the resale value, but won't take a chunk out of the pocketbook?


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## mdancey

Hi Lynda

Can you post a picture? It would help a lot. 

Cheers
Mary


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## Lyndak76

okay, here is a pic. ignore all the stuff on or around it, we are in the process of decluttering. 










here is the direct link to it if it doesn't show up 
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/9979/dscf3180ub5.jpg

thanks!!


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## Sammy

Dont hide the brick and the fireplace... FOCUS on it.. 

I would clean the soot off above the fireplace, maybe add some fireplace doors, see if you can add a wooden mantle, and maybe do some trim around the edges of the brick to clean up the brick/drywall transition. 

If you really wanna go for it I would add some natural stone just across the hearth to break up the texture and color.


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## Lyndak76

Sammy said:


> Dont hide the brick and the fireplace... FOCUS on it..
> 
> I would clean the soot off above the fireplace, maybe add some fireplace doors, see if you can add a wooden mantle, and maybe do some trim around the edges of the brick to clean up the brick/drywall transition.
> 
> If you really wanna go for it I would add some natural stone just across the hearth to break up the texture and color.


 my husband has mentioned the wooden mantel & adding glass doors. we really do not like the look of the brick. we are more modern/contemporary with our style & it just doesn't fit. That is why we are looking at ideas on what to cover the brick with. 

If It was in our budget right now, we would have someone come in & tear it out & start over.....but we don't have that kind of money.


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## mdancey

wow.....that is quite the fireplace.

The least expensive approach would be to paint it. Give it a good stiff brushing, vacuum well, prime and paint. You can paint it the same colour all over or paint it a base colour which becomes the grout colour and then dry roll a few other colours over the brick only. This will give you more of a brick look. 

Will you be painting the walls as well?

I would also have a couple of contractors in to see what they could do with it. You could box it in with drywall and add a proper mantle and insert. It won't be cheap but might be less expensive than you think. And at the very least will give you an idea of the costs for the future.

Cheers
Mary


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## Sammy

Might try doing some faux paint on the brick but I would do a pattern of natural colors to soften it versus a full all one paint job.. 

Maybe some stick on stone?

Lemme know what you decide with some pics. I have one to reface and am looking for ideas too!


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## Lyndak76

i will post pics once we decide what we are going to do. 

my concern with painting is it not being fire retardant. i would paint it quick if it wasn't for that. we have lived here for a little over a year & it has only been used twice (both times power went out), so maybe it wouldn't matter. 

my husband has given me the go ahead to do something with it, as long as it's inexpensive & we can do the work ourselves. 

he's an architect & you think he would have tons of ideas on what to do, but he doesn't. lol 

I may go the paint route. We do plan on tearing it out & expanding that wall in the future, so maybe I shouldn't be concered with the resale being affected.


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## Lyndak76

OH! And yes, we will be painting the walls as well. I am trying to do the updates myself since my husband works all the time.


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## mdancey

Here are a couple of pictures of a fireplace using several different colours on the brick only.

I've also seen one painted a dark smokey gray....all over no variation in colour. It's smashing!

If your going to paint the walls you could either paint it a different colour than the walls or the same colour if you want it to not stand out so much.

Mary


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## mdancey

I know lots of people with painted functional brick fireplaces. You see a lot of fireplaces that do not have brick above the mantle and it is always, or often, painted without restrictions. Check your local building code to see if there is anything there. We have 3 fireplaces, 1 painted brick, 1 with a wood surround and mantle (painted) with painted drywall above, and the last one is surrounded by large field stones. All are functional and used on a regular basis in this cold Canadian climate...no fires or discoloration either. Having said all that......I would still check with your local township to see what they have say as well as talking to someone in a reputable paint store like SW or BM.

An architect......you lucky girl. Still trying to talk one of my kids into that.....so far no takers.


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## Lyndak76

mdancey said:


> An architect......you lucky girl. Still trying to talk one of my kids into that.....so far no takers.


 
well he still have 2 yrs before he's a FULL blown architect. He has to get his license to practice, so for now he works full time at a firm & does all the things an architect would do, but doesn't get the pay.......he gets an intern salary, but at least he's getting paid, lol. 

and i think i will go with the paint. like i mentioned before, we hardly ever use it. today was the first day we actually got below 50 in a while (i'm in texas) and i think it was 28 for the low and around 40 for the high - MAYBE & we didn't need it today. We've only used it when the power when out, once during an ice storm & the other was the past december, not sure why it went out, but it was 8 am & about 40 degrees, so we used it then. 

anyway, enough of my babble. you guys have been great. once i get it completed I will post pics of it. i just hope it turns out alright. lol


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## Tscarborough

That is a pretty sorry piece of brickwork. I am not a fan of painting or otherwise abusing brick, but in this case, I would stucco the thing. Use a good cementious base coat and a slick finish coat and it would look really nice and modern to boot.


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## Lyndak76

thanks for the idea. 

i am glad you see the brick on this fireplace as we do, lol. i can't stand looking at it.


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## arubatan

Do what I did: install composite stone right over the brick. Let me tell you, it looks awesome! There are so many composite stones to choose from. I chose brown ledge - it is in my new kitchen, and I love it! Not expensive at all, and 1000 times better than painting over it!


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## slatergrl

I am looking into potential options for refacing a brick fireplace. The fireplace I am working on has a 1 brick thickness facade. It does not seem to be an integral part of the fireplace structure, it seems to be superficial. I want to know whether I can tear down the brick facade, and downsize to a hardibacker & tile face or box it in with sheetrock? In your research of this topic, did you come across what is allowable?


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## arubatan

Sounds like you need a mason to determine if you can tear that facade down. Although, me may not be able to tell by just looking at it - it may be difficult to know what's behind the facade. Sorry if this doesn't help.


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## slatergrl

It is only one brick thick & there is about a half inch gap between the back of the brick and the wall which appears to be sheetrock. My thought was that if there is sheetrock behind the brick then the brick couldn't possibly be doing much functionally for the fireplace.


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## Tscarborough

The chances are that it is only a brick veneer. Is it a zero-clearance fireplace or a masonry one?


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## nativeiowan

*Refacing HUGE brick fireplace*

Hi! Saw your post and I am currently in the middle of the same sort of project. Our late 1970ish brick fireplace goes from floor to ceiling, as well with a raised hearth (it's not quite as wide as yours though!). 

I am going to try my hand at the stucco treatment. From pictures I've seen, I like the clean, modern look it provides. The research I've done says it is a "moderately hard" DIY project.

I had previously painted the brick which helped and certainly looked better than the original brick but I still was not completely satisfied with just the painted look. I don't want to tile over it although the idea that someone else had posted about refacing with new stone treatment/finish would provide a completely new look that would be desirable. I want to do the work myself and that seems like something I'd have to hire someone to do in order to be happy with it.

Looking forward to seeing what you decide on! Good luck!


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## Lyndak76

Unfortunately we still haven't done a thing with this fireplace. Money's been tight. We will be working with the walls around it soon though & then *hopefully* we will do something with it. I would LOVE to stucco it. I've even read something about using thin set to smooth it out before painting it. Our home reno is slow going.....VERY slow going, but it's getting there. :wink:

And thank you ALL for your wonderful ideas!


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