A coat of paint can be a great way to revamp your brick fireplace, especially if you’re starting from unfinished red brick or go over a previous paint job. Peel-and-stick tiles can be used to give your fireplace a quick makeover, while GenStone’s easy-to-install stacked stone panels can update your current fireplace without removing any existing material. Covering a brick fireplace offers a range of opportunities to update the look and feel of your living space, whether you choose to paint, stain, use concrete, or install cinder block walls.
One popular option is to cover it with stone veneer, which provides a natural and rustic appearance. By following the step-by-step process outlined in this article, you have learned how to prepare the area, clean the brick surface, choose the right covering method, measure and cut the covering material, and build materials.
Resurfacing an old brick fireplace with stone and slate can also be done, with a new stone facade and slate hearth. Building materials like wood, painted wood, and a solid rustic pine mantel can be used to transform the fireplace from dated to timeless style.
To cover up a brick wall, screw furring strips to the brick and attach drywall to those wood strips. GenStone’s faux stacked stone panels are affordable, lightweight, and easy to install. To remove any loose bricks, use a mason’s hammer to break up and remove the pieces. If replacing a mantel and hearth, use a mason’s hammer to break up and remove the pieces.
📹 Steven’s Brick Fireplace Cover Up | My GenStone DIY
With GenStone easy to install stacked stone panels, you can update your current fireplace without removing any existing material.
How do you update a red brick fireplace without painting it?
Bricks can be updated without painting them by pressure washing them, using German Smear or Mortar Wash, staining or rendering, veneer or cladding, adding accents, going green, or sandblasting. While painting is a common method for wood or Hardie board siding, bricks can be more challenging. There are many creative options to breathe new life into your home’s exterior, including adding accents, going green, and sandblasting.
Barry Brown, a remodeling expert and owner of Counter Culture DIY, and Ryan Vaughn, co-owner of San Diego Stamped Concrete and Staining, offer tips on how to update tired, old bricks to make your home look brand new.
How do you cover an existing brick fireplace?
A brick fireplace can be transformed into a new look with various options. Paint can be a great way to revamp your fireplace, while staining the bricks can be a more affordable and stable option. Limewash can be used to cover the fireplace, while concrete, stucco, stone veneer, tile, or wood can be used as alternatives. Brick is a stable and affordable heat-safe building material, but it may look outdated or ready for a change. Covering a brick fireplace can breathe new life into it, requiring creativity and the work of a skilled contractor.
Some ideas include painting the fireplace, staining the bricks, covering it in concrete, sticking to stucco, adding a stone veneer, tile over it, or incorporating wood. Whether you prefer to do it yourself or with the help of a skilled contractor, there are many ways to make your brick fireplace stand out and add a new look.
How to cover a brick wall cheaply?
In order to conceal an unsightly brick wall, one may consider painting it in order to achieve a fresh appearance and protection, installing vinyl or wood siding for a new appearance, utilizing climbing plants such as ivy or other plants for a natural look, or applying stucco for a textured finish. These options can serve to enhance the appearance of the wall, provide protection, and impart a distinctive character to the space.
What to cover a brick fireplace with?
A brick fireplace can be transformed into a new look with various options. Paint can be a great way to revamp your fireplace, while staining the bricks can be a more affordable and stable option. Limewash can be used to cover the fireplace, while concrete, stucco, stone veneer, tile, or wood can be used as alternatives. Brick is a stable and affordable heat-safe building material, but it may look outdated or ready for a change. Covering a brick fireplace can breathe new life into it, requiring creativity and the work of a skilled contractor.
Some ideas include painting the fireplace, staining the bricks, covering it in concrete, sticking to stucco, adding a stone veneer, tile over it, or incorporating wood. Whether you prefer to do it yourself or with the help of a skilled contractor, there are many ways to make your brick fireplace stand out and add a new look.
How do you make exterior brick look modern?
A new coat of paint in a fashionable hue, a thorough cleansing of the brickwork, or a basic scrub can invigorate the exterior of a domestic property by removing accumulated detritus and restoring the building to a pristine state.
How to make exposed brick look nice?
To augment the aesthetic appeal of exposed brick, one might consider incorporating contrasting textures such as tiles, hanging plants, mirrors, or picture frames. These elements can be painted with a bold block color or mural to create a visually engaging and functional space.
What can I use to cover exposed brick?
BrickImaging recommends staining for enhancing exposed brick walls, as it permeates the brick without compromising its texture or integrity. This method allows the brick to retain its natural breathing ability, ensuring longevity and durability. BrickImaging offers a range of staining solutions, including Stayntech® brick stains, which provide a consistent, permanent, and maintenance-free finish. Available in 12 colors and four application options, these stains are formulated specifically for brick, block, stone, and mortar, and are guaranteed to never bubble, chip, or peel like paint. The experts at BrickImaging are available to guide you through every step to achieve the desired results.
How to modernise a brick fireplace?
Enhance your brick fireplace by turning it into a focal point that blends with your existing decor. Paint it in a neutral or bold tone, refrashen it with a German schmear or concrete skim coat finish, or add dimension with a modern or antique mantel surround or a reclaimed floating wood mantel. Explore brick fireplace makeover ideas in various styles, from traditional to transitional, modern, and farmhouse. For a contemporary feel, paint a large brick fireplace white, while a midcentury modern-style brick fireplace is decorated with a trio of black-and-white photographs.
What can you cover brick exterior with?
Brick walls can be covered with various types of siding, including vinyl, hardboard, and metal. Vinyl is the most popular option due to its wide variety of colors and resistance to rot, mold, insects, and fire. It is a cost-effective option for those looking to remodel their homes without much money, as it can be done quickly with simple tools. Hardboard siding is more durable, lasts longer, and is cost-effective, but it is not very energy-efficient.
Metal siding is another option, offering a modern look and comes in various colors. It is easy to find a match for your home and doesn’t require maintenance, making it a convenient option. However, not everyone will appreciate the modern look of metal, so it’s important to ensure it matches your needs before installing it.
How to update a brick fireplace without painting?
Bricks can be updated without painting them by pressure washing them, using German Smear or Mortar Wash, staining or rendering, veneer or cladding, adding accents, going green, or sandblasting. While painting is a common method for wood or Hardie board siding, bricks can be more challenging. There are many creative options to breathe new life into your home’s exterior, including adding accents, going green, and sandblasting.
Barry Brown, a remodeling expert and owner of Counter Culture DIY, and Ryan Vaughn, co-owner of San Diego Stamped Concrete and Staining, offer tips on how to update tired, old bricks to make your home look brand new.
How to update brick exterior without painting?
Staining is a semi-permanent solution for changing the color of brick without painting it, as it penetrates the pores of the brick and changes the color from the inside out. However, it may not be permanent and may not be easy to return to the original color.
Mortar wash is another option for changing the color of brick without painting, as it sits on top of the brick and won’t penetrate into the pores. This hides any imperfections on the surface and is a temporary solution, making it easy to return to the original color. However, reapplying mortar wash can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Brick typically requires little maintenance, but if it is cracked or damaged, it may need to be replaced. This can be a costly and labor-intensive process but ensures the brick looks its best and gives it a new look.
📹 DIY FIREPLACE TRANSFORMATION with a CUSTOM HEARTH!
Hey Gang! We’re excited for this one, we’re finally tackling this fireplace! It’s time to upgrade this red brick fireplace eyesore into a …
Great article. We have an exterior brick wall that’s the back side of our fireplace. The bricks in rough shape and we were quoted $4000-$5000 Canadian to have it fixed properly. I can now see me scraping the loose bits, wire brush the rest. Get a pail or 2 of quick Crete mortar and seal it all then using something like this. Brilliant.
What will make your articles more watchable is showing more of the visual process of the project and techniques in detail shots to teach others this is why people look at projects to learn the skills to replicate on their own. I know you love your Dad by focusing your camera mostly on him most of the article. But well done to both of you Fireplace looks amazing…❤
Great job and looks awesome. I have that same tile saw I used to install 12×24 tiles in my 4 foot by 8 foot shower with a 9 foot ceiling. I never used my angle guide to make any cuts. I did like you and hand scribed and then free cut like you guys did. I couldn’t have done it without that saw. You make it look easy and I know it wasn’t. Can’t wait to see what’s on the list next.
I love this look and I hate bricks. This is what I was looking for. Ok so, I have no clue on how to use a saw and I want to hire someone to do this. What type of questions do I ask the carpenter to see if he knows what he is talking about and how to pinpoint the good ones from the bad ones. Please help 😊
I did a double sided fireplace with this stuff 3 years ago. 1st go was okay, 2nd is much tighter like yours. I wish I would have seen the suggestion to trim the glue, I bet that led to some of my minor gaps. You mention you still need to caulk. What needs to be done? Any suggestions on how you’d address minor gaps? Thanks.
Paul, you talked about nobody wanting a real brick fireplace anymore. In 1981, the Mrs. and I bought our first house, a fixer-upper in Orange, CA. with a double-sided brick fireplace……..PAINTED white. I wanted a real UN-PAINTED brick fireplace. I spent 2 weeks SANDING that brick with an industrial belt sander that I rented. I tried to protect the house from the brick dust with plastic sheeting, but it still got all over the house, and I was sneezing brick dust out of my nose for a few days afterward, as well! Got it done though.
I have done a few dozen of those for customers so far. Your techniques are perfect and well explained. I would just add to not let the customer select the stones are the quality varies greatly and the bad ones are such a nightmare that you should decline to install them. Also price yourself to include grouting touch up for gaps. Trust me, you will need some grout here and there. You will also need to air clean the whole wall with air from a compressor to really clean it (you will be amazed how much stone dust will come out). Then brush some stone sealer over the whole thing. These last three steps (grout, air, sealer) will make the wall look like a million dollar job.
Is it bad that I think this dates the fireplace now? In 20 years someone will be doing another article on this fireplace saying, “This stacked rock tile dates this fireplace so we are going to change it.” Brick is real and it is more authentic… the finished product looks like what it is… like someone bought rock tiles and put them over something else. If that’s your look, it was a super professional installation.
My fireplace steps out as it goes up, so to get this look im most likely going to have to remove most of the brick, I might as well go right back down to the firebox, and use real bricks/blocks, eliminate the need to get creative with the sides of the opening and since my hearth is flush with the fire box floor I have to disasemble this as well, am I opening pandoras box by doing this?
What did you do to finish the open edge around the opening to fireplace? I know the edge of them tile’s look just as bad as the backside..showing bits of glue and not being finished of course due to the cut. I probably would have trimmed it out with small angle iron or some kind of metal sticking out like 3/4″-7/8″ and painted with that same black paint and butted the cut to it. I used that same stone a few different times. I remodeled a master bathroom a few years ago and we reframed the bathroom and changed the layout and customer’s wanted to add a free standing bath but with the massive shower we just built I didn’t have a ton of space but had a huge hallway on outside so I bumped the wall out like a bay window so didn’t take up 2 much space and looked as if was a planned detail. Customer’s picked the white stone to be installed on the 3 alcove wall’s and choose a spout to be centered on long wall but with the stone not being flat and also wanted to push it off the wall I made up a 2 piece block out of 5/4″ Azek and step the blocks to give detail and routed the edges. Worked great. Only suck part of it was not even a yr later tbey called me back and said they didn’t call to point fingers and already purchased new materials but if I can come give them a labor price to pull tub,remove white stone and backerboard and install new black stackstone bc the white started to yellow. I thought maybe it was a little in their head but when I got there I was shocked. I never reached out to msi to look into it and the only thing I could come up with was maybe due to them having well water and it having alot of iron in water.
Yes, it looks good from afar, but upon closer inspection looks tacky with the painted brick! You guys did a good job otherwise. My father was a contractor, the one thing he said, and it has stuck with me all these years, was ” do the job like it was your house”! that has always been my mantra. I think it looks unfinished with the painted brick! too bad because you guys usually do a nice work.
The red brick will be more timeless that that glue on stone for sure, as a mason we do this all the time but I almost think it’s a mistake. The brick was done by a real mason because it has to be (not a homeowner job) and that makes brick more expensive to install and better than the glue stacked stone and the brick is definitely something that will go away and come back in home design. We do brick all the time. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea or this is not a good article, I’m saying the brick is better, more expensive to install and timeless!
My feed has been full of a lot of building websites lately… the more I TRY to watch them the more I appreciate what you guys create here… Please keep it up and keep your style and content in line with what you have built here… thank you!. Most of those websites are huge and consist of content that is basically infomercials or useless. Matt Risinger for example has almost 900k subscribers and his content would make Ron Popeil call him a shill. I just clicked on a This old House Episode out of nostalgia and made it about 2 min in…. When I get around to remodeling my 10,000 sq foot waterfront mansion on martha’s vinyard I will check out TOH again. But until then Stud Pack, b/c the houses you work on are built just like mine… and 70% of everyone else’s.
I was having deja-vu when you were fitting the hearthstone. I laid some hardwood in my Dad’s house, and had to come up to a hearth clad in stone that was put in when the room was carpeted. I spend an afternoon with a hammer and small chisel trimming the stone so the hardwood would slide in underneath. Looks much better than a piece of quarter-round. 🙂
I simply cannot unsee those big gaps from the white side panels against the black stonepanel when you cut it with the multi cutter. Specially on the right side. It’s more obvious because of the shiny black surface which mirrors the gap and creates a shadow effect. Maybe duct tape on the black panel would have made the gap smaller instead of the thick trowel with blue painters tape? Otherwise great job with the project!
Can’t get past the gap at the upper right of the fireplace opening – eyes go right to it. Should’ve started the stonework after the hearth extension was in place and masked off with Trimaco X-paper and there wouldn’t have been any need for kickstands on every course. The black spray painted bricks is another one the eyes can’t get past.
This just reminds me of the fad of covering beautiful hardwood floors with linoleum, carpet, tile, or paint. This is just a bit more permanent. It’s excellent work, but dang… I died a bit seeing them destroy this chimney. In 5 – 20 years, some person in this house will want the exposed brick look again, but there won’t be a good way to clean off all of that thin-set.
Love you guys. There is a product called “sticky stone” for mainly outside stoning on bricks or block walls. And for outside and inside a product called, “SRW”. The SRW for inside hanging stone on sheet rock is thinner and you use a corking gun and bead the back. You’re a pro so you will know how many beads according to length. Note: STICKY STONE is a sausage so you would need to order their gun for it. Either one of these products are slip resistant and dry fast. No more spreading thin set and it cuts back on time and messes. Try it out. And tell Jordan his humor enhances the shows. Be blessed and remember to give back.👍🏽🙏🏾
SO, I just bought my first house in 2020… It’s a cute little cottage-ish style house built in 1977. I clicked on this article thinking I would get some ideas for my fireplace. The first 5 seconds of this article, you read my living room like you’d been there! I have the same brick fireplace, at an angle, with a very similar mantle! Even my hearth is similar! I don’t have vaulted ceilings, so that’s a relief. But now I definitely have some ideas to redo my fireplace! Question though: my brick is covered in a yellowish shiny coating, maybe lacquer or shellac, will the thinset stick to that, or is there a lot of sanding in my future?
That’s a gorgeously well-done refacing!! Only thing I’d prefer, is putting a cleanable face on those 2 painted areas….matching stone would be a cleaning nightmare …Best: a brick-width black-steel strip, tight-fitted to cover each side, forming a smooth, cleanable surface. You could actually fit steel strips over the brick anytime. But that black paint does help camouflage the old brick edge…it just looks like a bit of an after-thought.
I have a very similar project, but it would be for the outdoor front of a house. Lower 2/3 of the house is brick, that we’d like to cover with a façade similar to what you did with the fireplace. Issue is that in my case the mortar joint is square-recessed rather than flush. Given that, do you recommend that I first have the mortar filled in to make it flush, or can I just use a thicker layer of thin-set to make everything even for the façade installation? Thanks
When you made the 22.5 degree cut… you marked the floor to guestimate where to cut. Why not mark the backside of the tile? Hypothetically, with the tile held in place, scribe the pencil on the backside against the brick and you’d get the exact place to cut the tile. Not saying it’s better or worse… Just curious over one method versus another?
I’ve been following you guys for a few weeks now perusal your articles. It’s nice to learn new skills especially for me a lady. The only thing I have to say is, I don’t like the black stone you chose for the base. It’s just too in your face harsh. It probably wouldn’t hurt to partner with a designer on some projects. Men and women have different tastes when it comes to decorating. Having a trained professional that can see both sides of the coin would probably be very helpful for you
I’m about to use a different product from MSI on a master bathroom remodel. It’s a thinner stacked stone, and it has a peel-and-stick backing on it. I would have gone with ‘regular’ stacked stone using mortar, but I would have had to replace the drywall with cement board. Only thing I’m worried about it how steam will effect the glue on the peel-and-stick. I’m going to replace the bathroom fan with a higher-capacity unit, just in case.
I have a square gas fireplace with tiles around it. two beautifuo windows with shutters on each side and 3 avobe fireplace. Can I reshape fireplace to a rectangular shape and make it longer so I can place my 75 inch tv avobe ? right now it looks akward because tv is too big for fireplace. Maybe if I make fireplace rectangular and longer than tv it will look better? Is this a big job or not really?
Thanks for the article clip. However, the camera man focused on the guy’s face all the time and didn’t even bother to show the entire look of the wall once which I found pretty weird and off-putting. The Travertine Wall Tile looks good, but it’s about 12 USD/sf, so the cost to redo this fireplace would be well over 1k. You can cut off some expense by mixing some part of the walls and the base with glossy wall titles of matching colors in different shades. so it still looks good while you can easy cut the money spent down more than half.
Nice but hard to say Epic. More like glorified DIY. But great effort and article. Veneer from floor and decor with mastic is far from epic. The next time we gotta see it done the correct way. Take a frosting bag and fill in the space gaps from the veneer. Sponge it like tile and make this fireplace epic. Good thought though. Nothing more than 600 in materials and great DIY.
Well that came out nice ! I have 2 fireplaces to do. One has pink marble slabs on it, It looks horrible trust me. And the other one had 1/2″ clay tiles on it, green and gold. Wow idk what they were thinking there. I like the granite slab for the hearth. I may uses these a a kitchen counter back splash too. The kitchen has green 3/4″ green Carrara glass tiles with pink grout on the walls. Yes i had to paint that white for now, it was too much to look at lol. They have to be removed .
Might want to look into a product called Evolve Stone (evolvestone.com). You can cut it with a standard wood blade on a circular saw, so no tile saw needed. You can shoot it onto wood framing directly with a nail gun, so no thin set involved. It’s available at the major hardware stores, but it is a tad pricy. But for a website about to hit 100k you might be able to hit them up for a sponsored article as they have done with other creators.
Considering doing my brick fireplace with veneer as well. I’ve seen some articles where they say you need metal lathe and a scratch coat even on brick and others say you don’t. Obviously not using either seemed to work out well here. Is there an instance where you would recommend lathe and a scratch coat on brick? I’ve got regular used brick, fireplace built in the mid 80’s so there’s nothing really out of the ordinary. Thanks.
Nice job, unfortunately we too have an red brick 70s/80s fireplace which I have been looking to upgrade. I see you used the thinset directly on the red brick rather than using cement backer board first and laying the stone on that. Does it matter? For a DIYer with some experience, is one way easier than the other? Thanks and great article!!!
I was trying to see if this is a real fireplace or one of those fake fireplaces with either gas or an electric insert. It’s either a really good fake with burned wood in it or it is real. If it’s a real fireplace is it still safe to use? I’m concerned with the expansion rates of the heat on stone, brick set, and quickset. If you lit this thing up would it cause all the brick-set to come tumbling down? Y’all are Southerners and probably don’t place importance on alternative heat sources that still work if the grid is disconnected like Northerners do. Not meaning to pick on Southerners here, just pointing out we all have our priorities.
I love perusal you guys. I’ve learned a lot. Currently using stacked stone in a bathroom remodel as a surround for a curb-less shower. Wondering if you’ve been able to make 45° miter cuts for inner corners, or do you prefer to alternate the stone tile edges as you go up the wall? Would appreciate any guidance or advise you may have. Thank You! 😊
I have a question. Is there a tile that is heat resistant to put on the face of the screen? I wish there was a way to put a photo of this fireplace I have on here but can’t. I just went to Lowes to see if they had a heat resistant tiles and they only had stones that you just put up. I don’t think my fireplace is fully finished. It has a mesh screen all around and it blows cold air in and I was thinking it has to be something that goes over it instead of showing black mesh screens. 😏
So, a couple things. I just floored my entire house with MSI Montauk Blue slate tile (12″x24″) . I love it—there’s nothing like authentic stone in the home. My kitchen countertops are nearly (if not actually) identical to that hearth you had cut and then installed. I’ve been needing to research to see if that was a feasible material for that, and I think I’ve found my answer. As a designer, I will always recommend straying from the trendy (whites/greys/gold hardware (at the time of this writing)) and thoughtfully consider upgrades and facelifts that reflect the overall style of the home. I DO think your choices here (entire project thus far) are perfectly acceptable and carry a great aesthetic. Keep up the great work and the quality content/production value.
Well done guys! I believe I will use your article as a guide to renovate my fireplace. With the exception of the angle at the top, my fireplace is an exact replica. One question relevant to the stone or granite hearth . . . how much of an overhang did you leave past the new stone under the hearth? 1″ or 2″?
I’ve experienced negative effects from a green laser. If you read up on them you’ll find they can damage your eye sight. Sounds silly until you realize you can’t see as well anymore, then it’s too late. I’d recommend that you look into eye safety and see if protective equipment should be used around that laser. Thanks for your articles.
While your craftsmanship is unmatched and if you were in my area I would hire you to do such a project I would rather have seen a whole lot less in-your-face-narration and more emphasis on capturing the process on article. The whole feel of the article came across as a MTV pool party episode. The camera was too shaky and I wound up shutting the article off for minutes at a time in order to get through it. I muted the narration because perusal it does far more than somebody talking. All I wanted to do was the see the DIY part not the hype that goes around it. You sold me on your craftsmanship but I didn’t need the song and dance.
Maybe its just me, but painting the brick black then being able to see the faux stone thickness and thinset edge looks terrible and unfinished. Also, do not like the idea of scribing the stone to the baseboard. It makes it look like an after thought and if the trim ever has to be removed to repair or replace you are screwed. JMO