Fitting a fire surround???

[kwickemart]

Hi i'm new to the forum (as well as DIY) and would appreciate any help/advice anyone can give me. I have just purchased a fireline marble and granite fire surround, along with a new gas fire. I wish to fit the fire surround myself before getting a pro to connect the fire, but there are no fitting instructions and very little available info on this topic.

1. Bearing in mind i have floating floorboards, do i have to bed the heath on any mortar if so what do i polace between the floorboards and the mortar.

2. How do i secure the backing slabs of ganite to the wall can anybody recommend a suitable adhesive as the fireline website suggests not to use water or oil based adhesives

3. The main support legs and mantel came with brackets, screws and raw plugs, should these pieces also be secured with adhesive or will these be sufficient, and is there any way of mounting the brackets so as they are not visible externally when finnished.

This probably makes me sound like a complete numpty but please entertain my stupidity, as aven my dad (a very competent DIY'er) is stumped by this one.

 

[JerryM]

1) not done a floating floor before. the one's i've done have a mortar hearth in the area in front of the fire place with floorboard surrounding it. the only thing i can think of is to sit it on silicon sealant.

for a normal fireplace i use plaster board adhesive to seat and level the hearth. put at least 4 biggish mounds on the floor and lower the hearth onto them. the mounds need to be higher enough to contact the top surface of the hearth as it is lowered into position. avoid hitting the marble with anything as it's quite brittle and easily snapped.

2) i use same method for the back plate but put the mounds of adhesive onto the back panel. use the mantel to push the backplate onto the wall to just the required distance to leave no gap to the mantel inside with the mantel outside touching the fireplace wall

3) i fix the mantel brackets to the mantel, offer to wall and mark position, drill wall plugs, then dig out plaster around wall plug holes so that bracket can be held below surface of plaster when the screws are fitted to the wall plugs. cover dug out area of plaster/brackets with filler once the mantel is fixed in position.


Nb

1) i've not used granite before but presume it's similar to limestone which i have used. the method is same but cleanliness is crucial with limestone as the polished surface needs sealing. also the back surface needs sealing with several coast of pva before using the adhesive. i seal the polished surface once its installed with a spray from my local fire shop (AKEMI Triple Effect Counter Refresher). you can tell if the heath and backplate are already sealed by pouring clean water on - if it sits their then its sealed if it spreads then its not sealed and any marks in use will be difficult to remove if you don't seal it.
2) both hearth and back panel need to be air tight sealed to the fireplace ie after the hearth/backplate are in position any gaps between them or to the fireplace must be sealed ie with the plasterboard adhesive
3) it’s better to get your corgi man in upfront to go through what’s to be done to minimise any potential additional cost later. particularly given the floating floor

 

[kwickemart]

Cheers Jerry, extreemly useful info, have since had the gas man in to check and everything seems fine with the installation plans. I however have been a complete rufus, on removal of carpet there is a concrete bed in the floor surrounding the fire place, and bedding the brackets in the wall seems like the way to go, so now i can install with confidence, Ta.