With our fireplace refacing plan all worked out, and our supplies waiting at the ready, it was time to dive into step 1: TILE! So we’re here with every last detail, from prepping and tiling to grouting.
In case my sketch below is still indecipherable to everyone but me, I highlighted the areas of the photo below that are going to get the tile treatment. The tile border is only about 7 inches wide because the rest of the brick is going to get framed out with wood and MDF (which will layer on top of the tile, hence doing tile first).
Oh but it’s smart to check the code in your area to make sure your wood surround isn’t too close to your firebox (ours calls for at least 6″ of tile and then the wood surround can start). And no, the tile is not going to be grellow. Ha!
If you recall, the tile we picked out was this marble subway found at Home Depot for a little over $5 per square foot.
But before we could start slapping tile everywhere (that’s a technical description, btw) we had to create a smooth surface on which to attach them. So we bought some 1/4″ cement board and we used the old bend score and snap method to cut it into strips. Then, thanks to some heavy duty masonry screws and a cheap masonry bit for our drill, we attached them to the fireplace. It was quite a dusty process, and it helped to have four hands around for it (Sherry would hold while I drilled and vice versa).
Oh yeah, and it was around this point that we realized we probably should clear off everything sitting on the fireplace mantel so that all of our drilling didn’t send anything down on our heads. Plus I’m not going to lie, if I directly (or even indirectly) sent one of those ceramic houses on the mantel crashing to the floor, the lady wife would not be pleased (I have sort of a bad track record when it comes to things like that).
So after we cleared things off the mantel and ripped off the old wood top while we were at it (demo-ing things fully before tiling is always smart) it was back to tile prep. For the bottom hearth portion, I actually just squeezed out a whole bunch of heavy duty construction adhesive, laid down my pieces of cement board and then stacked some heavy storage ottomans (of which we have plenty around here) to hold them securely in place overnight (I later added a few screws at the corners just to reinforce them).
The nice thing about adhering the cement board right over the old hearth instead of demoing it out first was that because we added the cork floor right over our previous linoleum one (due to not wanting to disturb an asbestos liner underneath) we still had room to add cement board and tile without it bumping up and being oddly raised (in fact it brought it back to being aligned).
So here’s the fireplace all set and ready for actual tile.
Well, not totally all set and ready. We wanted to protect our cork floors before getting into the thinset-and-grout-y mess of a tiling project, so we quickly taped down some protective rosin paper leftover from our last kitchen tile project.
We also took the time to lay out our tile beforehand. At Bryn’s suggestion, we bought a few extra boxes than we needed, just to account for overage and so we could pick out any weirdly chipped or discolored ones. Thankfully there weren’t many broken or otherwise wonky tiles, so I’d say that we used 90% of the tile we bought, and only returned 10% as overage tile (which is a pretty normal percentage – and Home Depot is happy to take it back).
It was a smidge tedious to lay it all out, but it was great because we could begin to see how they’d come together and even do things like space out the veining (so there was a nice mix of both instead of all of the dark veining ending up on one side of the hearth and all the lighter tiles on the other side). And in the interest of using as many tiles as we could without being super picky, we also made a pile of “why-is-this-one-weird-or-chipped-on-one-side?” tiles to use for the smaller cut pieces that we’d need (we could slice off the weird/bad parts for many of the edge tiles anyway).
And as you can see from the angled cut that I’m marking below – we decided to go for a herringbone pattern on the hearth mixed with a traditional brick-layers pattern on the fireplace surround (we held them up a few ways and liked that configuration best). Update: we’re getting requests for more info on why we chose that combo, so here ya go… with so little surface area (just 7″ showing around the firebox) it wouldn’t really establish the pattern enough (we thought it would look like random and busy half-zigs and half-zags without enough of the tile showing to look like chevron). So we held it up both ways and liked the simpler pattern for the smaller area, just because we didn’t think it would look as chaotic.
And thank goodness we own this triangle square…
It was a lifesaver since basically every single cut for the hearth was on a 45-degree angle. And after cutting tons of crown molding on all sorts of angles, I gotta say that this was much simpler. Anyone can do this. Yes, even you scared-of-tiling folks out there. It’s really not that bad. I promise.
We made all of our cuts with our wet saw (one of my favorite tools) and it was fairly easy. The only challenge was that the marble was a bit brittle so sometimes the corners broke off as I got to the end of a cut. But I didn’t lose too many tiles in the process, so it was actually a lot easier to work with than penny tile (we had a much higher learning curve when it came to cutting that).
Once we had a few of our initial pieces cut, we mixed up some thinset (still leftover from penny tiling – woot!) and started slapping down some tile. Again, that’s a technical term.
I realize I’m glossing over some of the details of the actual tiling process. But we’ve covered it so extensively in the posts below (including video) that I thought sharing those links made the most sense. So for this project just trust us that it went along pretty much the same way unless otherwise noted in this post.
- Here’s how to hang cement board
- Here’s how to install penny tile (including video)
- Here’s how to grout penny tile (including video)
- Here’s how to de-haze & sealing tile
- Here’s how to install a subway tile shower & marble floor (including an extremely detailed supply list)
Once we had the pattern started it was a pretty mindless process, it just took a long time because there were so many cuts involved in such a small space. But it was pretty straightforward (it was one of those just-keep-going tasks that didn’t involve much problem solving once we got the hang of it). I’d guess that it took us a good four hours to get the bottom portion done (although it was broken up by lunch plans with an old coworker, so it still ate up a good portion of day 1).
The next day during Clara’s nap we attacked the top portion, which went significantly faster because the straight cuts were easier to do.
And since the outer edge was going to get covered by the MDF frame of our wood surround eventually, we didn’t have to be sticklers for a clean edge. In fact, Sherry and I figured out a way to stagger the tiles so that we were able to reuse both sides of a cut, which made life much easier. See how the bottom row has a cut tile on the left? The other half of that tile is in the row above it (on the right). So they sort of staggered themselves up the wall, and we weren’t creating tons of tile fragments that we couldn’t use.
So by the end of day 2, we had all of our tile done. Yeehaw. (Oh, and that white strip of brick inside the fireplace is eventually going to get painted the same dark charcoal color as the rest of the firebox, so just ignore it for now – and of course we have trim pieces for the floor around the hearth so it’ll be seamless and smooth in the end).
The next evening we got our grout on using some non-sanded grout from Home Depot in their Snow White color (it’s not super white, sort of a very soft gray).
I don’t know about you guys, but for some reason the transformation from un-grouted tile to grouted tile is super satisfying to me. Seriously. I could grout all day… well, if I had a bionic wrist.
As I shoved grout into joints, Sherry stepped in periodically with a slightly damp sponge to smooth everything and wipe off the excess. I’m still jealous of how clean she stayed.
Grouting took all of 45 minutes, maybe. And it left us with this beaut. Admittedly it still looks crazy without a built out mantel around it, but that’s next on the agenda.
So we’re excited to start building the surround, reconstructing the mantle, adding trim and molding, priming and painting, and eating a celebratory cookie (or twenty) when we’re finally done.
Oh and we sealed all of the tile/grout after the grout-drying waiting period on the bottle (we had some leftover from the backsplash). Took ten minutes tops. Ending up with a completely re-tiled hearth and fireplace surround (in white marble, no less) feels like such an upgrade for only around seven hours of work (total), and the budget wasn’t nearly as scary as “marble tile” sounds. Ha!
- Cement board (2 sheets): $16
- Masonry screws: already owned
- Liquid Nails Heavy Duty: $2
- Subway tile: $5.50/sq ft, totaling $70
- Thinset: Already owned
- Tiling tools (saw, trowel, float, etc): already owned
- Grout: $11
- Tile sealer: already owned
- TOTAL: $99 (*thanks to some holiday gift cards from the family, we actually only spent $49 – but without gift cards or already owned supplies this might be an $150 upgrade)
I think we’re riding a herringbone high right now. Seriously. I’m so glad we decided to do that pattern. For some reason it makes me feel super fancy. Maybe we need to rename our house Downton Ranchy.
And maybe we should record a sequel to this SNL skit called “Marble Subway Tile.”
Does anyone else have some good experiences with subway tile, a herringbone pattern, or tiling a fireplace in general to share? Have you purchased a marble column recently? Are you like “What is this, The White House??”
*This post contains affiliate links
Tania says
Love herringbone!!!! I am going to be laying herringbone tile in our bathroom once we finish the plumbing. :) can’t wait!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Tania! It’s going to look awesome!
xo
s
julianna says
It looks great. I’m curious why you’re painting the edges around the opening instead of also tiling them?
YoungHouseLove says
For fire code reasons, leaving those brick inside of the firebox is the best bet, and since they’re all the same, painting them all the same color should make it blend in nicely.
xo
s
Jessica A says
I am loving this new project guys. What a great upgrade! I think I could stare at pretty white marble for an embarrassingly long time ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, come on over and sit on the floor with me Jessica!
xo
s
Chelsea says
I’m impressed! I haven’t “tiled” (quotation marks VERY much intended!) since I last made a mosaic in elementary school and it was… rough, ha. But you guys made it look like pros did it!
Sorry if this was discussed earlier in another fireplace post, and you mention painting here, but I don’t know if you meant this: will you repaint the brick? Right now, the contrasting white colors, at least in the photos, make the tile almost look a little dinghy? Is it not that way in real life, though? Or are you going with a different white for the brick?
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll just repaint the white stripe of brick in the firebox that you see in that one shot. The rest of the brick will be covered by our wood mantle once we build it :)
xo
s
Chelsea says
Gotcha– I wasn’t getting it, as I figured, ha, so good to know! Thanks so much for the super speedy response! (And happy belated birthday!)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Chelsea :)
xo
s
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says
It’s looking awesome so far! I’m obsessed with the marble subway tile and I love the herringbone pattern you chose. Can’t wait to see it all done!
Sara says
Tile reminds me … we went to Gelati Celesti this weekend and my husband and I are sold! So good! He’s heard me talk about penny tile before (and your blog) and I finally got to show him penny tile! :-) Loved the decor!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet! I love that place. Happy penny tiling!
xo
s
Jocelyn says
Beautiful. I love the herringbone floor mixed with the horizontal surround. I think bringing the herringbone up the surround would have been too busy and ‘matchy matchy’. Thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jocelyn! That’s what we were afraid of too!
xo
s
Suzanne Dingley says
It looks fantastic, can’t wait to see the reveal. I retiled my fireplace last year with marble herringbone tile and subway tile but my herringbone is on the face and the subway is on the hearth. You can check out the work in progess photos here and click on the fireplace link to see before and after. http://backonfestiveroad.blogspot.com/2011/11/fireplace-progress.html
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh I totally googled around and saw that a few weekends ago when we were starting to brainstorm this. So inspiring! I love your result!!
xo
s
jenn aka the picky girl says
That herringbone pattern is GORGEOUS. If I had (or knew how to use) a wet saw, I might be tempted to lay this in my half bath. It looks amazing, guys.
YoungHouseLove says
A few years ago we didn’t know how to use one either! 99 bucks later it has been such a great tool for retiling an entire bathroom floor, shower surround, a kitchen backsplash, and even a row of accent tile in our master. That thing isn’t very hard to master (it just has one switch).
xo
s
Amanda T. says
Ooooo! It’s amazing! Love :)
gemma@thesweetestdigs says
This looks fabulous!!! The marble tiles are to die for already, but adding in the herringbone pattern is an extra Pow. Love!!
We did carrara marble floors in our bathroom and love the look (they were also very easy to install). The only regret is going with the lighter grout – wish now that we had gone with a slightly darker gray as it gets a bit dirty. Live and learn!
http://thesweetestdigs.com/2012/04/06/project-bathroom-marble-love/
YoungHouseLove says
Looks beautiful!
xo
s
Sharon T-B says
Hi Guys! This past week I was visiting Williamsburg and Richmond. We went to the Folk Art Museum and Fine Art Museum next to Colonial Williamsburg as well as the Virginia Fine Arts Museum in Richmond. Have you been to either or both? They actually have a lot of furniture. They even have a fireplace with tile around it from the 1800’s! I was thinking that could be a fun post for you guys to visit the museum and get inspiration from some of the pieces they have on display there or compare the home furnishing styles of Virginia hundreds of years ago to those today.
Anyways, just a thought since you live in an area with so many great historic sites and museums to draw from.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes we love them both! We go with Clara to the VMFA all the time! They have fun kid activities on some weekends too!
xo
s
Alix says
Glamorous! You youngsters are gettin’ fancier by the minute! :)
Just a little thing, but gluing and leaving “air pockets” can be a problem later on. In this instance, heavy cement board on a tiny hearth with heavy marble tile on it and a few air pockets is probably NOT ever going to be an issue, but I thought I’d mention it since you have so many loyal readers!
For example, where the x on the far right side intersects the line there’s a little pocket, or if the line of glue you’ve drawn all around the perimeter closed in the bottom right corner, that would be another big pocket. Most contractors just make one big squiggly “S” shape all the way down, so air can escape all around the glue. :)
But SERIOUSLY, this is gorgeous and all your tips and how to’s are crazy-valuable! Keep up the great work!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, great tip Alix! We learned about air pockets when we were building the deck. Don’t wanna mess around with those! Great tip about the squiggle S shape too :)
xo
s
Rebecca says
I love the upped frequency of SNL sketches! Keeps things so fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we have one blogging credo: if we can work in a rap video or an SNL skit, you betcher buns we will.
xo
s
Penny says
Adding my love for the SNL skits too. If y’all ever linked to “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” I’d die. No idea how that would tie in to a DIY project but I’m sure y’all could come up with something :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we sing that all the time!
xo
s
Lauren says
Beautiful! It makes me want to replace the ugly, tan builder tile in my bathroom with your tile. I can’t wait to see the finished fireplace!!
Joanna says
I know that your fireplace is non-functional, but one thing you can get if you want to have the pretty flame and a bit of heat without much effort is an ecosmart fire. They are basically stainless steel boxes that you fill with ethanol to burn, and they burn so cleanly you could put one in the middle of your floor if you didn’t have kids / dogs who would walk into it. The website is http://www.ecosmartfire.com. Not trying to spam, just really love ours since our fireplace couldn’t be used normally and now we get the ambiance!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really cool Joanna! Off to check it out!
xo
s
Claudie says
I am loving the herringbone! It makes me wish you had done the entire surround the same way as the hearth, but that isn’t the look you guys are going for. Oh well, I’ll just keep that in mind for our next house and its fireplace (that I’m hoping it will have, lol). :D
Laura C says
Looks great!
Rachel says
It looks amazing! And I bet it looks ten times better in person.
Christina @ Homemade Ocean says
We are in the “tile picking out” stage (also a very technical term) for our bathroom remodel. I have been crushing on this herringbone tile for a hot minute….you may have just sealed the deal!
Great job, it looks incredible :)
YoungHouseLove says
So exciting Christina! Good luck with everything!
xo
s
Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says
Oh wow … I have a feeling that this fireplace makeover is going to be right up there with my favorite YHL makeovers ever. I sort of feel the need to find something — anything!– in my house that needs marble herringbone tile.
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhhhhh, I’m nerding out over here. It’s so good in person. I think when we’re done we might have to make a sexy video like we did of the console. Haha!
xo
s
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno says
Sooooo jealous! It’s beautiful!
Suzanne Dingley says
Yes, it’s funny that there isn’t more inspiration photos out there. When I did my fireplace I could only find 1 or 2. Funny how my fireplace is the first to come up in google, you better not beat mine ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’d never!
xo
s
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
It looks great! I am really amazed at your tiling speed. My husband has been slowly tiling our backsplash in the kitchen… it’s taking a while. In his defense though we have been super busy between tiling sessions and this is his first attempt. Hopefully its something that gets quicker with time.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes it definitely does. We just had a small area for the fireplace, but our backsplash seriously took us weeks I think!
xo
s
Barbi says
The tile looks great! Just wondering what color you’re going with for the surround? It could be lighting or my screen, but the tile doesn’t look as bright white as the painted brick/trim. Just wondering if your throwing around any other ideas :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’re thinking about white, but we’ll pick something that hopefully goes with the tile and the trim without making either one of them too jarring. Should be fun to stare at 100 white swatches until my head spins. Haha! Seriously, that’s my idea of a good time.
xo
s
amber says
I’m sure somebody has already asked this, but do you guys plan on painting the brick now that everything is white? Like a charcoal grey to make it pop and tie into the penny tile wall?
YoungHouseLove says
The brick is actually all going to be covered with wood (see that paneled wood framing in the diagram). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Heidi says
Oh my gosh this is gorgeous! I just finished a tiling project too – I made ginormous mosaic planters for my daughter and her husband for their porch – from the leftover tile from a renovation of their kitchen and bathroom with a few glass accent tile pieces thrown in for fun. how awesome would herringbone marble tile be on planters? I may have to try that next! Can’t wait to see how the fireplace turns out all dressed up with its new wood surround and mantle.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that would be gorgeous! Send pics if you tackle it!
xo
s
Stephanie says
Love the herringbone and your gorgeous marble tiles! We did our kitchen last fall and used white subway tile in a traditional brick-layers pattern for the backsplash, but did a herringbone pattern in an inset over the stove. I looooooove the combination of patterns!
We actually did the herringbone sideways (living on the edge!)
http://hospitablyyoursblog.com/2013/01/15/new-year-new-kitchen/
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty! Your entire kitchen is gorgeous!
xo
s
Christine says
It looks great! How did you lay out the right angles for the Herringbone pattern and make sure they were level across? :)
YoungHouseLove says
We just made sure our first cut was 45% and when we laid it, we were sure to lay that cut against something that was parallel to the wall. I also laid out a bunch of tiles before we put the first one down to be sure it didn’t look like it was traveling down or up.
xo
s
Karyl says
Soooooo luscious!! I didn’t think much could rival your penny tile, but I think I want to get on a plane from the West (Wet) Coast just to touch it…..
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, come on over! It’s a stiff competition. I think penny still wins because she’s my first love.
xo
s
Katie says
Looks amazing! I would love to use this tile in my kitchen as a backsplash but with builder grade laminate cabinets and counters it may look too fancy/out of place. I guess I need to downgrade a bit on the tile I choose. Bummer!
Jennifer says
Downton Ranchy! Ha – made me laugh out loud!! I always love reading your posts!
Clementine says
I just ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘ahh-ed’ through the entire post. I love the herringbone!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Clementine!
xo
s
Helene says
Ohhh love this, a fireplace makes a home, to me. this is looking great! (first time to comment! obsessed with y’all ovbs.)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Helene!
xo
s
Jess@hillcountryhomebody says
It’s looking awesome guys! I’m really impressed that your tackled the herringbone on your own. All those angles make me nervous;) but look oh so yummy!
danielle @ design-eye says
Looks amazing! We actually used this EXACT tile, in a herringbone pattern, in our bathroom….the space isn’t finished yet, but you can check out the progress here! I’d LOVE you to stop by :) http://www.design-eyeonline.com/bang-for-your-buck-herringbone-tile/
YoungHouseLove says
OH MY GOSH, it’s gorgeous!! Thanks so much for sharing the link. So inspiring!
xo
s
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
I love the tile in herringbone on the floor! It looks amazing! I really can’t wait to see how you build the surround!
Cat Morris says
The tile is looking beautiful!
I know this is your house and your readers aren’t really voters in some sort of a house democracy–haha!–but my “vote” is for you to go for a slightly more modern surround when you eventually do the other side of the fireplace. A variation of the smooth clean lines (at the link) seems so “you,” whether it’s tile/wood or all tile. The trim work you’re building on the kitchen surround seems more traditional than your usual choices, but it is cozy and it is in keeping with the board and batten aesthetic, which I think is rather timeless.
Fireplace Surround
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that would be gorgeous!
xo
s
Laura says
Have you ever used the fireplace? It doesn’t look like it – would you mind sharing why not? And if you have, how do you keep it so clean?!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a non-working fireplace but we’d love to add a gas insert someday! John’s sister had a wood burning fireplace that she used every day of the winter for five years (it was also painted white on the outside) and she just cleaned the bricks once in a while and it looked nice (semi-gloss paint is key since it’s scrubbable).
xo
s
Margaret says
I think you could class up that marble tile with a ceramic bust. Purchasing a ceramic bust will elevate your status in no time!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah! How about if I stand in front of it and John feeds me grapes while I wear a toga made from pure silk?
xo
s
Nico says
Do it. I guaranty you will instantly feel smarter, more awesome and 800% more classy.
YoungHouseLove says
Or will I feel klassy with a k? Hmm…
xo
s
Erin says
a humongous congratulations to you guys for the YHL shout out in Real Simple magazine this month. you are truly an inspiration!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Erin! It was so crazy to see it this weekend. We were all “whaaaaaa?!!!!!!!” – and then there was lots of jumping.
xo
s
Kristen says
What is this, The White House??!! :-) Also note to self, must start to save to replace the (outdated) tile on our fireplace with something as cool as this! xo
meghan b says
It looks amazing!!!! We used that tile for the backsplash in our first house’s kitchen and I LOVED it then! The herringbone pattern is awesome too.
lilcg says
sorry if I missed it somewhere in the articles, but are you still planning on trying to make the fireplace double sided? will this impact that at all?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, check out the first few sentences of the post for that info :)
xo
s
Michelle says
John, I love how you have safety glasses on your head, but appear to be barefoot! Classic!
Looks fantastic!
Gina says
I love this idea, can’t wait to see the finished mantel. I have quite the ugly brick fireplace at my new house and am thinking of doing some sort of tile eventually. So can’t wait to see how you guys accomplish this!! Thanks for sharing!
Kelly says
Your book is available on Zulily.com today for $15.99.
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhh! That’s so exciting. Dang, that’s a good price too (cheaper than amazon I think!). Thanks for the tip Kelly!
xo
s
Janet Chavez says
Tell me you don’t always work BAREFOOT:) looks awesome you two! xo
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not always! Deck building and bathroom demoing involved shoes :)
xo
s
bethany says
Downton Ranchy! Love it. Project is looking amazeballs guys!
Charisma says
I am so glad you have posted this today it has something ive been contemplating doing. I have a beautiful wood fireplace surround with tile that is not my style but changing the tile would very much bring the whole fireplace to match the look i am trying to achieve. Thank you.