"Phil L" wrote in
:

"Harold Davis" wrote in
message ...
Hello,

Can someone advise on what adhesive I need for sticking a steel fire
trim to fireproof render? This will be the only means of securing
the trim in place; I'm not looking for something that's only a
sealant.

Someone recommended Everflex Heat Mate sealant, but I don't think
this is the right thing, given that it's marketed as a sealant and
more importantly
the manufacturer says it's not recommended for stone.
(http://www.everbuild.co.uk/heat-mate).

I'd like something I can put a couple of beads of onto the three
sides of the fire trim before fitting; hold the trim in place with
some wood or whatever; and then remove the wood and the trim stays
where it is! I know of several products I could then use for sealing,
but it's the sticking I haven't worked out yet!

Nothing will stick to render apart from plaster.
Adhesives will at first adhere to the surface, but the surface of
render is sandy and this will easily detatch from the main body of
render, especially with metal's expansion and contraction, but even
timber won't stick to it.

Is it decorative trim or is it out of sight? - if the latter, you can
drill and plug it on, if the former, you may need to plaster the
render and then the trim /may/ stick to the plaster

Thanks for this.

The trim is decorative. The front face of the chimney breast has been
covered with heatproof render (Vitcas) and then 'tiled' on top with 20mm
thick brick slips secured with adhesive (Nicobond Quickfix). I have left
some leeway at the edges of the fireplace opening, about 25mm each side,
and was planning to pack that area with render to leave a flat surface a
few mm away from where the trim will go.

I'm no expert, but I have to question what you say about nothing sticking
to render other than plaster. The manufacturers of Nicobond Quickfix say
it will stick to render:

http://nichollsandclarke.com/uploads...029ce459d9.pdf

and I've found many positive reviews saying it has been fine for doing
what I've done or similar.

They also say it will stick to steel when mixed with an enhancer (?).
Maybe I should use render to make a surface under where the trim will go
and then butter both trim and that surface with (enhanced) Quickfix? The
thought hadn't occurred to me before. The problem is that whereas it can
take the heat that will be experienced by the chimney breast, I am not
sure whether it could withstand the higher temperatures experienced by
the trim.

Harry