Hi,

I tried posting fireplace questions in the job help section but received no responses so I will try here. I know there are many threads on fireplaces and what finishes are appropriate but much of the discussion is conflicting and I need solid answers since there can be fire issues. I am pasting a URL of a sample photo showing the different component areas of a fire place and asking what finishes are appropriate. I know many of the textures are fine but I mostly get asked for a polished (calcenova and veneziano) or marmorino. My questions are concerning butting these finishes up to the fire pit and whether or not it is mandatory to have the tile or marble 12" surround for fire protection. When and in what areas can wax be used? Are the resin based reliable? I know gas or wood burning makes a difference but I need a general direction.

I would sincerely appreciate any solid advice. I seem to be getting calls for a lot of fireplaces and can only advise after knowing which of our products are appropriate.

Doyle is it possible to have a spec sheet made for people to follow. We don’t all come from a construction background and even so if you ask a professional contractor they will say it depends on your finishes.

I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you,
Cher Cultrona

If I was to put Marmorino up to the fire I would put a sealer on it. They make a sealer for stone tile. I think it is called Impregnator. Not sure if the heat will hurt the shine on a high polished plaster like Calcenova or Veneziano. Then you have the black soot issue. Which is why I would use the sealer.
Doyle

Cher, I saw your diagram in the Safra thread....I just want to share with you my feelings on this. I would not butt any plaster, polished or not (resin or lime), to the fire pit. At best a concrete mix would satisfy me, but ideally I would recommend some sort of tile to compliment the design. I would also recommend the same for the hearth. If this fireplace will be used (wood burning or gas) you will likely have some butt traffic on the hearth....you know sitting down to warm up the back on a cold day. What if someone has a set of keys poking out of their pants pockets....could easily scratch a plaster finish, or if it is a wood burning fireplace, there is always the temptation for the firebuilder to set a log on the hearth before it goes in the fire...even for just a moment...too easy to damage this area.. I would recommend tile or a granite slab for this....as for the rest of the fireplace surround....I would use just about any of our plaster finishes, but unwaxed...just me though. You could wax them if desired, just nothing close to the actual outflow of heat....(like around the firepit)...

Greg

Hi,

Thank you for your input. I went to the meeting today before I saw your note and this is the status. These people have a see through fireplace, I am attaching a URL so you can see. It is basically 4 sided. It is a gas fireplace. They really want the venziano w/out wax of course. They said what they have as far as a substrate has been approved by a fire inspector so it would be my plaster finish going over that. I told them I would not want to bring the finish into the ledge which butts up to the metal casing,not sure if you can see it in th epic...basically the casing is inset. The hearth will remain in the marble they have in place. I also told them I would want to do a torch test with the finish to test it with extreme heat because they really don't know how hot the fireplace gets. They don't want the marmarino as they feel the look of it competes too much with their marble and they did not want to go in a direction of any of our textures.

What do you think?

Here is a link to the fireplace as it is now.
http://www.chercultronafinishes.com/Kanter_Fireplace1.jpg

Thanks,
Cher

Cher, I like the picture....decisions, decisions > I think the Venzi is a very good choice for this....I can see the inset around the mouth of the fireplace. We know the metal will get super hot so it just seems logical that some barrier, the smaller the better, would help where the venzi meets this, either more marble (a tile perhaps or full-length-narrow slabs) or is there a "SUPER-CAULK" out there for heat resistance??. I cant tell if the hearth is a dark marble? If so you could probably get away with the same color as a narrow surround around the inset...that way the heat will have disapated through the tile to the venzi, and it will more or less match the inset. Another thing....I'm wondering if using Velnovo (as a base to your venzi) may be a benefical buffer between the heat from the walls and the venzi itself. We can get really technical with this and personally I tend to want to go a little overkill when it comes to starting with the right substrate....whether it is in a moisture setting or extreme heat environment. I suppose as long as this was built to code and done right, seems that way according to your post, then you'd probably be okay with just the Venzi primer and finisher.

As far as your torch test I would try to find a similar material to their inset and torch that, let it get real hot and then butt it up near the venzi on an extra sample....see what happens, its just hard to know how hot it will actually get (where is the onsite-lab-tech team when you need them?). It is always good to try and duplicate the situation in a sample setting to get some idea of the effect, but then again it will not be perfectly duplicated. Just dont directly torch the venzi, it will melt. ...this is my main concern, the venzi being so close to the metal inset..gotta break it up somehow.

Greg

p.s.
Hey, why not have them crank that puppy up for a bit and see how hot it all gets?

Thank you Greg! I really appreciate you taking the time to advise me on this. Fireplaces always make me nervous and for some reason I keep getting clients who do not want to put the tile around the fire pit area. The hole in the wall look is so popular now. I will see if I can get a sample. However they seemed unclear as to what is actually around that area except for the fact everything had been approved and up to code. They talked about metal pins and then the sheet rock over it...I don't know...I thought cement was supposed to be for that. I think they don't exactly know what was done just that is passed the test. They said they wanted to paint that inside ledge area. I assume that should be ok since the substrate is fireproof?

I like your idea of turning it it on and seeing how hot it gets. I'll see if I can get them to do that.

I will keep you posted.

Thanks again for all your expertise.

Cher

Cher, anytime i can help I will. You can always P.M. me too or email me.

Take care, Greg