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Painting huge rock fireplace
I have ideas on this fireplace, since I cant demolish it (for now) I think a coat of paint is in order.
What do you think?
It wraps into the kitchen though, I was thinking of having some shelving placed on this side..
#1 Land & New Construction Contributor
- Severna Park, MD
If its a rental , frame around it and drywall it up . Maybe add some shelves .
Don't paint masonry. Tile over it.
I think that's called moss rock. I wouldn't paint it at all. If you are set on covering it up, I like the frame it out idea, that way someone could come in and decide they love it and just remove the framing.
That kitchen is super-ugly. What are the plans for that?
I forgot to add that this is a buy and hold.
@Mindy Jensen it's gag worthy alright. Keeping the layout, fix replace cabinets, new counters, backsplash, sink ect.
NEVER PAINT Masonry or natural rock - - NEVER NEVER NEVER.
do anything you want with the surrounding, but leave the masonry alone.
just out of curiosity, why can't your remove it?
I have sheet-rocked three sides of a brick fireplace and slate tiled the front. It turned out nice. But stone....have you tried to work with it?....get it really clean and wire brush it or use some kind of chemical to lighten/brighten it? Stone = quality. If I were't lazy I would find a painted limestone fireplace that was on the MLS a few years ago. Horrid, just horrid. Solid black or white...can't remember. You may be able to paint stone in a faux stone sponging technic that would not destroy value, but I wouldn't be brave enough to try. A guy at a builders model home told me the newest high end home neighborhood here is using light wood floors. Use light colors to work with what you have! I also tore out a limestone fireplace because it was huge and I wanted a window to overlook the creek. We got lucky and our roofer had matching shingles (probably ours that we paid for with our 1 year old roof)...something to remember if you plan to tear out.
Sure you can paint masonry. I ran a pro painting business for 10 years. Clean it as good as possible, wire brush the heck out of and Spray it with a VERY good quality Latex Paint. You may have to back brush the mortared areas to get the paint to soak in and adhere. Although you may have to repaint later in the year. A real fireplace like that will discolor from either smoke or heat after a while. Make sure the flu and chimney are clear. Your can use an eggshell or satin sheen for durability. You should spray the ceilings while you are at it with flat latex paint. From the photo it appears to be acoustic ceilings.
Originally posted by @Joe Leonti:
Sure you can paint masonry. I ran a pro painting business for 10 years. Clean it as good as possible, wire brush the heck out of and Spray it with a VERY good quality Latex Paint. You may have to back brush the mortared areas to get the paint to soak in and adhere. Although you may have to repaint later in the year. A real fireplace like that will discolor from either smoke or heat after a while. Make sure the flu and chimney are clear. Your can use an eggshell or satin sheen for durability. You should spray the ceilings while you are at it with flat latex paint. From the photo it appears to be acoustic ceilings.
YEP, you can use a crate of spray paint to paint a Royal Royce too, but it looks like heck and recanting that decision will never get you back to a pure masonry look.
IMO, try real hard to not burn bridges behind you.
if its a Rental, just leave it, you dont have to live there. I kinda like it, I would however maybe permanently block the fireplace, by putting a cheap electric unit in the fire box, unless you dont mind if the tenant burn it down.
@Zach Kidd ILOL!! I would dig out those pants and have a demo party if I could! I'm just leery of what is underneath all that rock!
@Scott SchultzIt is a rental, and what to do about this fire place was kind of on the low end of the list. But as the house is coming along, the fireplace looms large!
I would bet that rock is mortared on to a brick structure. That 70's stone is about 4 inches thick im guessing. Its not real stone but fake concrete. If you are doing major reno... Now is the time to do it. Painting it is a maintenance issue but yes it can be done.
That is not real stone. It is yours. Paint it if you want to.
You can also stucco/plaster over it. You can remove it without to much work, as it is not real stone.
Even though it's 1974 in there... I kinda like it! :D I especially enjoy the little storage? area to the right of the fireplace, with the stained-glass doors.
Here's a weird idea. Put RGB LED strip lights on the top and bottom of the mantle, aimed to shine up and down along the rock. Bright white might be good to lighten up the fireplace a little, but you can always turn the knob for a different look. Maybe put a piece of quarter-round or so along the room edge of the mantle to hide the LED strips from view.
Maybe, instead of the strip lights, LED cans in the ceiling above the fireplace, but you sort of need two sets so the mantle doesn't cast a big shadow downwards.
You might be able to go up into the attic and look down into the room, using the gaps around the chimney/flue. Maybe put a webcam on a stick and work it into the cavity behind that wall to see what you have. You can also take video on your phone, but be 5000% sure that the rope or whatever you have tied to your phone won't come off... if you drop your phone into the wall, you *will* be doing some demo to get it back. :)
I get being leery about what's under there. It's better to know.
FYI, I'm a Floridian. I have one of the few homes in my area that has a fireplace. I use it from time to time. I like to think that 'm a pretty smart and handy guy, but it's very much outside of my experience level. Cleaning, maintenance, roof leaks, critter exclusion, what the heck is a flue? Given your location, I'm guessing you (or your tenants would be) in the same boat.
Call in a really solid contractor. Make sure you can take out that entire wall (not load-bearing), fire place, and the rocks. Figure out what you should do with the chimney, roof, drywall, etc.
Then do it. Demo it. All of it.
You'll put as much into time and materials (or more) to attempt to cover the ugly as you will to take the fireplace and wall out, go open concept, drop an island, and be done.
You'll have less hazards like fire (obviously!), critters, and rock-climbing children. No worries about pest control & exclusion - large rodents, birds, bats, squirrels, or snakes using the Santa Claus home entry technique. The roofing is less likely to leak, and makes the eventual roof replacement job easier and cheaper.
It will have a much broader appeal, the room will look light and huge, be safer for tenants usage, and you get the peace of mind from eliminating that liability and fire risk. Not to mention that reduced insurance rate!
It's a much lower maintenance scenario too. No need to hire a chimney sweep every six months, provide & maintain fire extinguishers, extra CO alarms, this list goes on.
On this one, I would be aggressively defensive.
Don't paint it. If it gets cold in your area I would do one of the following-put a gas or electric heater in it. If you think you want to remove it then I would do a test by taking out that front bottom area, pull up the slate and see what you are dealing with. If you take out the stoop part (what is that called?) you will need to install a non combustable surface at floor level in that area if you leave the fireplace in. I think just removing that front piece will tell you something and probably give you the freedom to keep it and frame it in as suggested if you find it is too hard to remove it.
@Mary Lou l Thanks so much for posting this! I'm in Colorado Springs, Colorado and bought a 4 unit building just a few months ago. I have the EXACT same stone around the fireplace in each unit! The responses confirm what I was thinking- wire brush it with 409 cleaner and hope it looks good after.
Paint it. It will hold up fine. I have the exact same look in a 1973 home I own. Painted it two years ago and it looks much better.
@Mary lou L.and @Lauren H. so this is how I have seen these types of units are constructed. My grandfather build a few homes in that era. They were built with cinder block that served as the structural component. The flue was constructed inside of the cinder block with special tile designed to withstand the heat. The exterior of the cinder block was then covered with brick or rock in your case.
It is pretty easy to verify this by finding a small stone at the edge and chipping it out. The best tool to remove it would be a hammer drill set on hammer only with a spade bit. They can be rented at a rental store for $20 or less for two hours. The other option is hammer and chisel. Be sure to use proper safety equipment like a face shield and safety glasses. I would think the hammer drill could take down the covering in a few hours but I've never actually done it and I'm famous for under estimating the magnitude of a project (just ask my wife). Once you get an edge exposed the spade bit should slide under the rock and it should flake off in big chunks. At least that's my thinking.
I would then seal up the chimney and cover the whole area with dry wall. That would be relatively cost effective and look 10x better. It' doesn't reclaim the space but it does improve the look. The effort and costs of this approach would be on par with proper cleaning and multiple coats of painting that have previously been mentioned.
Removing the cinder block would be a structural modification and I would not recommend that with out someone with experience.
Show us what you end up doing.
One addition is if you seal it up CAP the chimney at the top. Not sure about your area but you don't want an animal trapped in there. Evicting squirrels-not fun.
Love the pictures...you could get an estimate for removal. It's always easier to do when vacant and not all ready rehabbed. We rehabbed a duplex and it was awesome doing it with no tenants in either unit. I found a lot of items on Craigslist to save costs: vanities, cabinets, appliances. Before/After pics would be cool to see.
Thank you so much for all the responses!
We have decided to just remove the rock at least on the kitchen side for now (keeping fingers crossed that its all good underneath). If everything goes well then we will take off the rest!
I really want to demolish but time frame and budget right now are best spent in other places, there is so much left to do in the house!
I will update as we get going!!
I have a similar one in one of my latest deals...its a late 60's house with a floor to ceiling rock fireplace. REAL rock. As my specialty is 'hoarder houses' and the ones nobody else would touch...this one was so full of trash the fireplace was mostly hidden. Where my places are rock is usually 'real' and considered quite an upgrade. I plan to keep the rock in place and clean it up. (and was glad to hear how others do this) never in a million years would I dream of painting it!
Hello! I would recommend that you have it looked at by a reputable painting contractor. I had a brick fireplace front that was painted by an experienced painter. Be careful.