Formwork around hearth

[Saycheese5]

Hi,

I've build a hearth that fills the base of the recess of my fireplace and the front of the chimney breast.

I've put a Formwork around the front of the chimney breat, then used Damp Proof Paint, grit and sharp sand/cement 3:1, plasticiser, SBR and water, cement slurry on top, back buttered the quarry tiles, but now the hearth is higher than I originally planned and is almost levelled with the formwork which could be quite hard to remove.

The wooden formwork does not look too bad around the hearth, but I did not put any Damp Proof Paint underneath it (the width is 20mm).

A couple of questions, considering all the raw materials I've used, how easy or difficult could it be to remove the formwork without damaging anything (especially the tiles)? Could I get away with leaving it directly on the concrete floor without a strip of DPM underneath it? There are no signs of damp.

Many thanks.

 

[ree]

Its hard to visualise what you have done. Why not post a pic?

 

[Saycheese5]

Here we go. All I want to do is remove the form-work, put a strip of Damp Proof Paint 20mm wide and probably put it back, if all the effort is worth it. The raw materials I've used must have made a very strong bond.

 

[Saycheese5]

Forgot to mention, the Form-work is not nailed to the concrete floor but I've put several paving bricks and covered them with black plastic sheets to hold it tight.

 

[ree]

With respect but how can i see what you have done if much of it is covered with plastic?

You have posted two pics but they are the same pic?

What do you mean by: "Damp Proof Paint"?

Did your concrete floor extend into the fireplace recess?

On the face of it, after the "form-work" is removed to expose the concrete you could use a tile trim for the edgings of the hearth - or a polished wood trim. But first lay any wood flooring so the tile or wood trim sits on it.

 

[Saycheese5]

With respect but how can i see what you have done if much of it is covered with plastic?

By removing the protecting plastic all you would see is the outside form-work and the concrete floor itself. The form-work is about 50mm in height and 20mm in width.

You have posted two pics but they are the same pic?

My mistake, I had trouble uploading. The pics are the same.

What do you mean by: "Damp Proof Paint"?

The floor in the room is made of concrete and a 35mm sand/cement screed on top of it. Houses built in the last few decades have a Damp Proof membrane made of a sort of plastic sheet sandwiched between the concrete and the screed, and there isn't one in my property. However, when it was built in the late 40's, a black bitumous paint was put on top of the screed which would prevent any damp from coming through from the ground. That paint would also serve as an adhesive to stick vinyl tiles on top.

Did your concrete floor extend into the fireplace recess?

Yes it does.

So, what I did was build a hearth consisting of sharp sand/cement and some SBR (very strong bonding agent), put the tiles on top while still wet, so the total thickness of the hearth is now around 50mm, higher than planned and almost the same thickness as the form-work, so how do I remove it whitout causing any damage to the tiles?

Thanks again.

 

[chappers]

Are you saying the form work is just held in place by blocks wedged up behind it. If so just take the blocks away and pull the form work off.

 

[Saycheese5]

I took the blocks away, screwed a couple of screws onto the wood, gently banged the sides of the screws with a hammer and the form works came out nicely. All that worry for nothing . Thanks again.