Creating tiled hearth

[Bad Chili]

Hi all,

I am currently in the process of converting my fire from a gas to a multi-fuel stove. I have removed gas fire (after having the supply capped of at the source), installed a lintel and bricked up the missing parts of the chimney breast. I am now at the part where I need to dig out part of the original hearth (sits about 2 inches higher than the floor) so it runs flush with the rest of the the floor which is concrete. This is so my new hearth tiles can run from inside the fireplace out to the required distance.
My questions are:-
How far do I dig down below floor level?
What do I use to fill it in?
How long will it be until I can tile over it?
What should I use as tile adhesive?

Hope the way I worded it makes sense.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ree]

Dig down the depth of the concrete floor Dig out the front hearth and the back hearth - lay some plastic as a membrane and use a semi-dry mix of concrete to fill it in. However, sometimes the upper hearths are laid on a deeper constructional hearth.

Give it say 14 days to dry.

Use a powdered cementitious adhesive.

Typically, you need to enlarge the fire opening and raise the lintel to fit a stove.

Your chimney flue should have been swept before any of this, and the chimney stack and terminal examined.

Presumably, you are taking HETAS guidance?

 

[Bad Chili]

Thanks for the reply ree,

I have checked the dimensions of my existing opening and it will house the stove i,m looking at (5kw) with adequate clearance all round so that isnt an issue. Getting the chimney swept this weekend. Plan to bring a HETAS engineer in to fit the flu liner and connect the stove up once all the fireplace work is done. Is there an alternative to concrete that will allow me to tile over sooner?

 

[ree]

Mfr's Dimensions are what you work to.

Stick with concrete - keep it simple. Maybe it will dry in a few days. It depends on whats called ambient conditions( how warm and dry the area is.

Make sure that a smoke test takes place, and a CO alarm is fitted ( hard wired is best).