Cladding over existing brick fireplace with tile
The homeowner wanted to update this old fireplace. They were getting it ready for sale so they only wanted to tile the face of the fireplace and not the hearth. In this case, the brick is nicely set all in one plane, no protruding bricks. So because it was laid smoothly, we could actually tile directly to the brick. The brick needed to be cleaned first with an alkali cleanser to take off a waxy substance. Then we rinsed it well with HOT water. In some cases, the brick is so dirty or grimy that an acid clean would be necessary, but not on this job.
I used a modified thin set with extra stickiness to apply the new tiles to the old brick. First, I flat coated the brick with a layer of smooth thin set. Then, I used a notched trowel to apply the final coat of thin set. This slate tile mosaic came on a net. Grouted with Natural grey grout. They will be getting a black metal insert plate to cover the opening.