Wanted Slate for Fire Hearth

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

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I have a beautiful wooden fire place from the Furniture Exchange that I lovingly purchased for £8 and have sanded and waxed!

I now need a hearth! I rather like the idea of having a rough piece of slate, not polished or anything...

However in my head slate was cheap! No no no!

Can anyone recommend where to get some from? I cant see anything decent on ebay - and even if something looks cheap postage is then £60+

I don't mind collecting within a fair radius for a good price - I just can't seem to find anything at all!

Or had anyone got any nice ideas that they have as a hearth?

Thankyou lovely people xxx
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
I thought about this but I don't have anything to 'tile onto' if that makes sense?

Currently there is no fireplace in the house, so would look a little odd if I just laid slabs onto carpet....
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Are you actually having an actual fire in it? If so, what is the floor where the hearth would be made of?
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

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No I'm getting an electric stove (the ones that look like little log burners), its just a blank wall in a carpeted living room

I'm hoping to mount the wooden fire place on the wall, with a slate hearth and pop the electric stove on top!
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
If you put a fender round the hearth, it won't look quite so much like it's just laid on the carpet...
 
Laurie61

Laurie61

Well-Known Forumite
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady said:
No I'm getting an electric stove (the ones that look like little log burners), its just a blank wall in a carpeted living room

I'm hoping to mount the wooden fire place on the wall, with a slate hearth and pop the electric stove on top!
Click to expand...

Ideally you need to remove the carpet from underneath the hearth, if it were me and depending on the room floor I would use the hearth as a template and cut out the piece of carpet. You could then get some plywood (18 mm) and screw/fasten down and put the slate on that. We have a slate hearth and it can be quite brittle, it ideally needs to go on to something flat and solid, tile adhesive could be used to secure slate to plywood.
 
Rikki

Rikki

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Both of our fireplaces have slate paving slabs for a hearth. Top picture the slabs were butted up as close as I could, bottom picture they have a black grout line. Both were raised by creating a brick edging underneath slightly smaller than the slabs would be and concreting in the middle level. Slabs were then bedded on top of this.
2014-10-15 17.30.37.jpg
2014-10-15 17.31.16.jpg
 
Rikki

Rikki

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Top fire is used regularly and slabs run under fire basket and it has no problem standing up to the heat, not that it would be an issue with what your wanting to do. I also cut down slabs for the mantel for the fire in the top picture and just butted them up again.

Alternatively you could use tiles, this one was done with left over tiles from out kitchen
2014-10-15 17.36.11.jpg
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
Thankyou so much for those pics Rikki!

They are all beautiful!

I have found a piece of slate at a reclamation yard - but they guy was a bit of a twat and wanted £60 for it - which I thought was far to expensive!

Those tiles are stunning tho - trip to B&Q methinks!

Thankyou x
 
R

redstar

Well-Known Forumite
I have a marble 'back' if you want it??

you know the sort, bout 3 foot square, with an oblong cut out.
so looking like an upside down u when in situ.

if you think you could use it, its free, however heavy
and would need picking up.....
 
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