Build a Beautiful Hearth

[WVsnowflake]

We had just finished painting our living room. With winter fast approaching and temperatures dropping every night, our woodstove lay on a hand-truck in the corner. The hearth was not yet built, and we had run out of money for this remodeling job.

I knew the look I wanted – a mosaic of black slate and shiny red tile. I doubted, however, that I could create the image I had in my mind. But since a trip to our local home improvement store proved we could afford nothing else, my husband encouraged me to try.

Thinking we could use them for crafts, our boys had collected roofing slates from around old, abandoned houses over the years. A friend offered a box of stained-glass pieces someone had given her. We also had a bag of grout left in the house from the previous owner.

We only needed to purchase a bag of thin-set mortar, a can of grout sealer, a notched trowel, some long, razor blade knives and a sponge rubber float. The cost of these items totaled $38.

www.grit.com/Tools/Build-a-Beautiful-Hearth.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iPost


When I clean mine up in the spring I will have to take a pic and show you the one dad made. It is flagstone.

[WVsnowflake]

I was noticing dads hearth yesterday ( when some red coals came tumbling out onto the floor) I guess with his wood stove there it was long enough in the front, but with the stove in there now it cones to the edge of the stove, and coals can still fall out onto the floor. I am thinking that I am going to have to add onto his, but I am not too sure about concrete if I can just add or need to tear up and replace the whole thing? Does anyone know if you can just add a small area to the existing concrete and rock ? or would it be best to tear up all of it?