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Installing Tile Fireplace Surround

A way of decorating your indoor fireplace is installing a tile fireplace surround. Instead of purchasing wood or stone surround for your fireplace, you can opt for a more cost-effective and colorful way of designing your fireplace.

Tile fireplace surround enhances the aesthetics of your fireplace, as well as give your home a radiant, relaxing appearance without having to expend on more expensive designs. If you are interested to have this tile set on your fireplace, here are the steps on how to install tile fireplace surround on your fireplace.

The first thing that you should do is to lay the tile fireplace surround on a flat surface and design them in a pattern that you want around your firebox. You can have the tiles in alternating fashion, or you can design them yourself. Next, protect the edges of the fireplace walls by putting masking tapes around its edges. Make sure that you also lay newspapers just in front of the fireplace to protect the floor. After this, clean the veneer of the fireplace and remove the obstacles from the veneer that will hinder the installation of the tiles. You can use sandpaper on the surface to smoothen it out.

After cleaning the veneer of your fireplace, you are now prepared to install your tile fireplace surround. Use tile mastic as an adhesive and apply them to the surface where you plan to stick the tile fireplace surround. You can also place mastic at the back of the mastic to make sure that it sticks on the surface. Work your way in sticking the tiles from the inside of the veneer surface of the fireplace, and have a tile cutter with you to chip away portions of the tile in case it does not fit with the others.

Once attached, wait for the adhesive of the tile fireplace surround to dry first before proceeding to the application of the grout. If excess adhesive is showing on the grout lines, scrape it off using a sharp object, particularly a screwdriver. When applying the rubber grout, you should start from the outside of the veneer working all the way to the inside. The dried grout will surely develop powdery particles on the tiles, so wipe them off using a damp cloth.