By Julian Patrick
Rendering a fireplace basically involves spreading a layer of mortar (sand cement) over the brickwork. This can be a great finish in a cottage where a slightly more “rough and ready” look is the order of the day (where perfectly flat might look out of place). My top tip here is always to make sure your surface is wet (I use a weak PVA mix for wetting the wall).
The inside left and right sides of this fireplace have been rendered to retain a Welsh Cottage feel
Part rendering can work very well, especially when some of the brick or stone remains on show whilst the rendering covers other areas. In the picture on the left rendering was chosen for the chimney breast and left and right internal fireplace walls. The rear of the fireplace is stone and was tidied up (pointed) to achieve a rather nice look.
I will be adding a detailed article here as soon as I get the chance. In the meantime Tommy’s Trade Secrets is worth a watch here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRGKh-UNxQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzt_8tbfvVg
You can Google “render brick” or “render fireplace” for further information on this subject.
Julian Patrick is the author of The Stovefitter's Manual and an experienced wood burning stove installer (including solid fuel heating systems).
Laid down tools in 2013 to write The Stove Fitter's Manual and open a small shop in North Wales (the Wood Stove Hut). Launched Stovefitter's Warehouse soon after due to fast growth of sales.
Own stove is a DG Ivar 5.
Already have a chimney? You need 1. Stove 2. Liner 3. Fitting Pack 4. Chimney closure plate (Hardiebacker board from Builder's merchants or galvanised sheet).That's it!
No chimney? Check out our shed kits or let us design your clip-together chimney design - easy peasy.
Stovefitter's Warehouse is owned and managed by Julian Patrick, blogger and author of The Stove Fitter's Manual. Julian was previously a full-time installer of wood-burning stoves (including solid fuel heating systems). He laid down the tools in 2013 to write his stove manual and open a small shop in North Wales (the Wood Stove Hut, soon to grow into The Stovefitter's Warehouse).
