Hi all,

I have a 1930's council house with a hearth that has had most of the
old fireplace removed, so it's basically just a brick-lined hole.

We're putting up a new fire surround, but my question is about the
tiles in the hearth. They appear to be the original tiles, made of
ceramic, but they're rather worn and a few have chips and holes.

Digging them out is going to be a right pain as they're bedded in
concrete; thus I'm thinking we could repair them with some kind of
filler and then paint them. Does anyone have any idea what we could
use to fill them?

Charlie

You _might_ find a commercial two-pack filler for sale for doing this.
They used to be around, but they're pretty rare now.

The other alternative is a good epoxy (non-yellowing with age and heat)
and a mineral dust filler. I'd use West System's. When you put it in
place, tape a piece of Mylar (polyester) tightly across the surface and
this will give a glossy surface without polishing.

White tiles are fairly easy, terracotta not too bad, but '30s off-pink
are a bit of a nightmare.

In article , "Charlie"
says...
Hi all,

I have a 1930's council house with a hearth that has had most of the
old fireplace removed, so it's basically just a brick-lined hole.

We're putting up a new fire surround, but my question is about the
tiles in the hearth. They appear to be the original tiles, made of
ceramic, but they're rather worn and a few have chips and holes.

Digging them out is going to be a right pain as they're bedded in
concrete; thus I'm thinking we could repair them with some kind of
filler and then paint them. Does anyone have any idea what we could
use to fill them?

Car body filler?

On 2 Aug 2005 03:01:33 -0700, wrote:

You _might_ find a commercial two-pack filler for sale for doing this.
They used to be around, but they're pretty rare now.

The other alternative is a good epoxy (non-yellowing with age and heat)
and a mineral dust filler. I'd use West System's. When you put it in
place, tape a piece of Mylar (polyester) tightly across the surface and
this will give a glossy surface without polishing.

White tiles are fairly easy, terracotta not too bad, but '30s off-pink
are a bit of a nightmare.

I'm not so bothered about the colour as I'll be painting the tiles
afterwards anyway. Thanks for the advice on Mylar though, that's a
good idea.

C

In article ,
Charlie wrote:
We're putting up a new fire surround, but my question is about the
tiles in the hearth. They appear to be the original tiles, made of
ceramic, but they're rather worn and a few have chips and holes.

Digging them out is going to be a right pain as they're bedded in
concrete; thus I'm thinking we could repair them with some kind of
filler and then paint them. Does anyone have any idea what we could
use to fill them?

Why not just tile over them? Tiles for this sort of area won't cost much,
and you might find some end of range even cheaper. Solid marble ones can
look really good for a hearth.

--
*You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 13:19:12 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Charlie wrote:
We're putting up a new fire surround, but my question is about the
tiles in the hearth. They appear to be the original tiles, made of
ceramic, but they're rather worn and a few have chips and holes.

Digging them out is going to be a right pain as they're bedded in
concrete; thus I'm thinking we could repair them with some kind of
filler and then paint them. Does anyone have any idea what we could
use to fill them?

Why not just tile over them? Tiles for this sort of area won't cost much,
and you might find some end of range even cheaper. Solid marble ones can
look really good for a hearth.

Ah yes - but the existing tiles are sunk into the floor, and there's a
matching fireplace at the other end of the room (with a plain
concrete hearth) which I can't tile over due conflicts with table
legs! I'm hoping to paint the concrete hearth the same colour at
least, even possibly with some faked up squares to look like tiles.

C

In article ,
Charlie wrote:
Why not just tile over them? Tiles for this sort of area won't cost
much, and you might find some end of range even cheaper. Solid marble
ones can look really good for a hearth.

Ah yes - but the existing tiles are sunk into the floor, and there's a
matching fireplace at the other end of the room (with a plain
concrete hearth) which I can't tile over due conflicts with table
legs! I'm hoping to paint the concrete hearth the same colour at
least, even possibly with some faked up squares to look like tiles.

Ok - but painted tiles are likely to look naff in the extreme.

--
*I brake for no apparent reason.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Charlie wrote:
Ah yes - but the existing tiles are sunk into the floor, and there's a
matching fireplace at the other end of the room (with a plain
concrete hearth) which I can't tile over due conflicts with table
legs!

Tile over it, and use furniture cups to make up the difference on the
legs which aren't the tiled area, so the table doesn't wobble.

Or if you're sure you won't want to move the table, saw a bit off the
legs that are on the tiled area!

Owain

In article , "Owain"
says...
Charlie wrote:
Ah yes - but the existing tiles are sunk into the floor, and there's a
matching fireplace at the other end of the room (with a plain
concrete hearth) which I can't tile over due conflicts with table
legs!

Tile over it, and use furniture cups to make up the difference on the
legs which aren't the tiled area, so the table doesn't wobble.

Or if you're sure you won't want to move the table, saw a bit off the
legs that are on the tiled area!

I believe the correct method is to use a cardboard beer mat, folded
until it's thick enough to stop the wobble.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Charlie wrote:
Why not just tile over them? Tiles for this sort of area won't cost
much, and you might find some end of range even cheaper. Solid marble
ones can look really good for a hearth.

Ah yes - but the existing tiles are sunk into the floor, and there's a
matching fireplace at the other end of the room (with a plain
concrete hearth) which I can't tile over due conflicts with table
legs! I'm hoping to paint the concrete hearth the same colour at
least, even possibly with some faked up squares to look like tiles.

Ok - but painted tiles are likely to look naff in the extreme.

All the suggestions havesounded naff.

I know from sad experience that the only solution is to replace the tiles -
it's a day's job but worth while in the long run.

Or simply don't have a tiled hearth at all. I don't know why we have them
unless we have fires which produce ash which needs sweeping and the
surrounding floor protecting from their direct heat. If we have those none
of the solutions will be serviceable.

For many years we had a wool carpet which went right up to the gas fire in
our sitting room. Now we have encaustic tileswhich are laid simply becauseI
was given them by the maker and they're beautiful. They're not necessary.

Modern hearths area waste of floor space.

Originally hearths had tiles laid on edge to withstand the heat of the
fire - which burnt in direct contact with the hearth..

Mary

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...

I believe the correct method is to use a cardboard beer mat, folded
until it's thick enough to stop the wobble.

Used to be a half crown.

Ah, those were the days!

Mary

In article , "Mary
Fisher" says...

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...

I believe the correct method is to use a cardboard beer mat, folded
until it's thick enough to stop the wobble.

Used to be a half crown.

Ah, those were the days!

If you put the half crown under the table leg how did you pay for the
beer? Or did you save it for the fish supper?

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...

I believe the correct method is to use a cardboard beer mat, folded
until it's thick enough to stop the wobble.


Used to be a half crown.

How did you fold that then?

"Richard Conway" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...

I believe the correct method is to use a cardboard beer mat, folded
until it's thick enough to stop the wobble.


Used to be a half crown.

How did you fold that then?

We were tough in those days.

Mary