hearth removal, levelling constructional hearth

[baby_belling]

hi i have just removed a 1940s tiled fireplace and hearth, I am left with a 3/4inch gap between the floorboards and the constructional hearth underneath, I obviously want to bring this up to the same level. What type of cement should I use, I have tried a bag of 5kg of cement mix but as you can see this obviously has not gone a long way. I have thorugh of self levelling compund but this can only be used for a few millimetre gap I am right? what is the best way to do this? I have pictures

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• baby_belling
• 16 May 2012
• 1

 

[TheVictorian]

Fill it with concrete but buy enough to fill the hole!

 

[tim00]

You appear to have sheet vinyl and carpet floor covering - do you know what your final FFL will be?

What is going into the hearth area, eg. a new hearth?
Or do you intend a new floor covering to flow across the made-up hearth?

 

[baby_belling]

at the moment I am not intending to have a fireplace in the room, I am just going to board over the fireplce and carpet over the old hearth site for for space as I dont use this room anyway. I may later on move the radiator over this site or go for a wall hung fire.

Maybe I should use this to cover the area?

http://www.wickes.co.uk/ready-mixed-multi-purpose-concrete-25kg/invt/154142/

 

[tim00]

If i understand you correctly, then you've gone about this the wrong way. To bring any boarding-over up to the level of the surrounding T&G floor, you might have to take some material out of the hearth area.

Determine exactly what you intend to go in the hearth recess, and work from the thickness of that material.

Stay away from any concreting.

A radiator positioned in front of a chimney breast would look weird.

Have the flue swept before anything else is done.

 

[baby_belling]

yeah your right about staying away from the radaitor idea, I am only going to board over the opening of the fire and not bothered about the flooring so the concrete idea i better for me as it wont be seen and I might decide to go back to a fire later on.

 

[tim00]

I understand you better now.
In that case then use a wash of PVA and water on the hearth and when tacky go over it with a mix of sand and cement . Then level it off with the existing boards.
You could alternatively use a wash of soupy 1 of sand and 1 of cement.