Flat bed for brick slips

[Mr_JM]

Hiya, I have a fireplace that I'm installing a large woodburner into. I want to use brick slips to create a nice finish on the inside walls of the fire opening.

The current brickwork is all over the place, out of plum, uneven etc.

Can I just use sand and cement to create a good level base before using mortar to adhere the brickslips? If so, any recommendations on what mix to use please?

(My understanding is that fireboard is not needed if using non-combustible materials inside the fireplace opening which is solid brick. I'd rather not use a board because of trying to save space within the fireplace.)

 

[noseall]

Hiya, I have a fireplace that I'm installing a large woodburner into. I want to use brick slips to create a nice finish on the inside walls of the fire opening.

The current brickwork is all over the place, out of plum, uneven etc.

Can I just use sand and cement to create a good level base before using mortar to adhere the brickslips? If so, any recommendations on what mix to use please?

(My understanding is that fireboard is not needed if using non-combustible materials inside the fireplace opening which is solid brick. I'd rather not use a board because of trying to save space within the fireplace.)

Not really no. The risk (with mortar) is delamination is a high probability. You may get better results with a carefully applied render, then use a suitable adhesive for the slips.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

5kg Vitcas Heat Resistant Tile Adhesive

Ceramic Tile Glue Fireproof Up to 1000 degree Celsius EXCELLENT ADHESION: The Heat Resistant Tile Adhesive will provide excellent adhesion, or use high temperature conditions where ordinary tile cements are inadequate for the long term retention of tiles. FOR FIXING: Vitcas Heat Resistant...

www.diy.com

You should be able to use the adhesive as a render first to flatten it out, let it set then use more as tile adhesive. Should be less chance of it falling apart if it's all one material.

 

[stuart45]

I've used mortar, both cement and lime, to fix brick slips in the past. Tiles used to be fixed using mortar years ago before adhesives came out. If you ever have to remove tiles done with mortar you'll know how much harder they are to remove than ones done with adhesive.

 

[yorksbuilder]

Buy 12mm thick cement board like No more ply. A1 fire rated. Drill & screw to the existing opening. (use tapcons so no plastic plugs)
This will give you a nice flat surface to stick your brick slips to. Use some tile adhesive or mortar behind the NMP if you want to bed it out on the uneven bits

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Fire rated ply is definitely not for use around a fireplace! It's just flame-resistant, to slow the spread of fires between rooms.

 

[stuart45]

I think he meant cement board, the one called no more ply, although the OP said he didn't want to use boards.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Hehe. Misread it! Think the same applies to cement board though - fire rated probably just means it has glass fibre mesh in so won't fall apart in a fire giving 30 mins delay to a fire getting through it. It doesn't mean it's ovenproof.

 

[stuart45]

Vermiculite board is the best. You can get them ready made with brick slips on them in various patterns such as herring bone, but they aren't cheap.

 

[Deluks]

It's a wood burner. The cement board will be ok, as long as it's a few inches away from the back wall, as it should be.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

You need to check the manufacturer's specs, as maximum temperature ratings differ massively. This may not be possible if you don't know who made it, as is often the case. Some may include plastic fibres.

 

[noseall]

Fire rated ply is definitely not for use around a fireplace! It's just flame-resistant, to slow the spread of fires between rooms.

No More Ply has an A1 rating.

 

[Deluks]

Wickes tells it like it is

NoMorePly Fibre Cement Board - 1200 x 800 x 12mm | Wickes.co.uk

NoMorePly Fibre Cement Board - 1200 x 800 x 12mm

www.wickes.co.uk

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

A1 means it won't catch fire but they don't state a maximum exposure temperature.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The only mention NoMorePly make of temperature in their datasheet is to tell you to aovid variations and to acclimatise it before fitting. So it may have quite a lot of thermal expansion, in which case it may pop itself or your tiles off when it gets hot.