A simple solution for creating a hearth for your fireplace or wood stove is to pour a concrete slab right down onto the floor!
We love how rustic and simple ours turned out with its soft gray coloring, perfect for the farm house look that we love so much.
Look closely to see how we added a little finishing touch to give it that “cherry on top”.
Here is the Before.
The shape of the tiles has baffled me for years. What is that? A stealth flyer? I never understood nor liked it, so the day we pulled up the two odd points on the sides and buried the whole thing under concrete, you can bet I had a gleam in my eye. Sweet victory.
Our home was built in 1906 and the tile just didn’t fit, in my mind. I wanted something that looked like maybe some draft horses had hauled it in, some type of a slab. That’s when I got my heart set on a concrete slab.
The shape was a little tricky and I ended up not making it symmetrical because the decorator in my knows that the wall below stairs is a hot ticket place for decorating. If I angled the concrete near the stairs to match the opposite side I couldn’t put much there, so I made the floor level all the way to the wall. I plan to stack fire wood along it.
So, here is the nitty gritty on how we made our own concrete hearth, diy style.
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Materials
- 1/4″ underlayment
- scrap 2×4 pieces
- sandbags
- plastic or paper to protect the floor
- level
- chalk line
- wire mesh for concrete
- wire cutters
- Sakrete High Strength Concrete Mix
- We used 13 bags
- square shovel
- wheel barrel
- 1/2″ edger
- pool trowel
- hand float
- screed (2×4 for leveling)
- burner
- concrete stamps
- I used little plastic stamps and they worked OK, but it would be better to use brass stamps or a insert a plaque.
- sealer
Tutorial
- Decide on the shape that you want and remove existing material that will not work for the shape.
- Cut the 1/4″ underlayment into strips and use to form any curves in the hearth.
- Protect the floor outside the form with paper or plastic.
- Nail the underlayment to the 2×4’s and weigh down with sandbags.
- Use the level and chalk line to mark any walls that will have contact with the concrete so they have a fill line.
- Use the wire cutters to shape the wire mesh and fill the entire form.
- Follow the directions on the concrete bags to mix, using a tub or wheel barrel and square shovel.
- Use the 1/2″ edger, pool trowel, hand float,screed (2×4 for leveling) and burner to smooth and shape the slab.
- We stamped the wet cement by putting the stamps in place, laying a board over them and tapping gently with a hammer. At first, it came out looking a little crude, but we kept skimming the slab for the top watery portion and putting that into the letters and re-stamping. It would have been easier to have inserted a plaque, though and I would suggest taking this route.
- Let dry for 24 hours before removing the form.
- Let dry for a week and seal with sealer.
Here is the full tutorial for the brick wall.
The little “EST 1906” detail is my favorite part, it reminds me of a monogram.
Sharing at these parties!
Here is a little article from Country Living that I got a kick out of “17 Signs You Live in the Country” , it is so true you will be chuckling the way through!
I just love it. I have been loving concrete countertops for a while, and so this really resonated with me. And the “monogram” makes it so special. You will enjoy this for years to come. Great job. Love it!
Author
Brenda, me too! Love those concrete countertops! Thank you for all your sweet comments and friendship.
xoxo
As usual, you have come up with another CLEVER resolution!! I love it! I love ❤️ the pale blue chairs! I had two different but very loving grandmothers growing up! One lived on a ranch and cooked for the Cowboys anytime they came to help my grandad out, very down to earth!
My other grandmother was the elegant one, always wore her pearls and was simply chic before anyone knew what it was! By that, I mean, her house was decorated simply, beautifully chic including her silver tea set in her bedroom and, not once, did I ever see it tarnished! She had the chairs you have by the fireplace, in her bedroom too! Only difference is they were covered in pink velvet!
I’m sorry for this to long of an comment but I guess this explains why I am drawn to your beautiful work and others! Thanks for sharing!??❤️
Author
Oh, I love it when people share their stories with me! Thank you for that little peak into your past, I love that you recognized these chairs! I am getting ready to recover them, but it won’t be in hot pink. haha! Your grandmothers sound completely adorable!
The concrete is absolutely perfect for your farmhouse, Sarah! I love the detail adding the date. What an incredible difference this made!
Author
Thank you for helping me brainstorm that crazy hearth!
Very creative and I love the monogram!
But…those chairs look dangerous, like they are on the verge of falling off of the concrete.
Author
Oh, thank you for your concern. But, the pictures are deceptive and we don’t leave the chairs there, I just set them there for the picture.:)
I love the Monogram!! So so cute 🙂
Author
That’s my favorite part, too! Thank you for stopping by.
Hi Sarah! I love what you’ve done here! Just beautiful work, and that stamp is such a fun touch! I’m so glad you linked up over at Remodelaholic so we could find you 🙂 We featured you in our Friday Favorites, and we’d love to invite you to be a featured guest on our site as well — drop me a line at [email protected] and we can discuss the details.
Happy holidays!
Lorene @Remodelaholic
Author
Oh Wow! I am so excited, thank you for this. I will email you privately.;)
How far from the back wall is your wood stove? We just bought an old farm house and are installing a 70’s Preway wood stove. I think a concrete base would be perfect for the look we’re going for. With white brick behind!
Author
It is about 2 feet from the brick wall, but the back of the stove is not hot. Yes, your ideas sounds gorgeous! Good luck!
Wanted to know about the concrete forms- did the seams all match up nicely? Did you not have a little between the floor and the form? Was thinking about silicone to fill the cracks but not sure.
Love it! We are getting ready to do a concrete hearth and I ordered some plastic (before reading this) stamps 🙂 did you put Vaseline or anything on yours? How long did you leave them in?
Thank you!
Author
I like the way you think. We did not use Vaseline and only pressed them in for a few seconds. However the letters that have shapes in the middle, like “o” and “R” were really hard. We had to shape the piece with toothpicks until they looked right, which took about 45 minutes.
Where did u get the cool stencil letters from?
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Hi! Love this idea! How many inches high did you go on the concrete? Wondering how thick I should make it. Thank you!
What sealer did you use?