Fireplace Hearth Tips

When most of us picture a fireplace in our mind, we rarely think about the fireplace hearth itself. It typically seems that the mantle, surrounding areas and fireplace accessories steal the show. The fact of the matter is, the fireplace hearth is the most important part of the fireplace, outside of the design options that need to be taken into consideration. Even within such a functional part of the fireplace, there are also some design options to take into consideration as well.

One of the reasons why a fireplace hearth is really limited as far as what you are able to do with it, design wise, is because it is necessary for you to meet strict building codes within this area of the fireplace in many cases.

It is not simply enough to use something that is decorative; you need to have a fireproof material that often means that it is manufactured. Fireplace bricks are available and you can certainly get some that are more ornate than others but even so, if you use your fireplace on a regular basis, it is typically going to end up looking like almost any other hearth out there.

One option that you do have, as far as the fireplace hearth is concerned is that you can get a decorative back for within the hearth itself. These are typically cast-iron and they come in a wide variety of sizes. Some are quite ornate in their design while others are simplistic. You simply slip these behind the fireplace grate in order to add a unique look to the inside of your fireplace.

It is possible for you to have a fire burning with one of these decorative backs in place but many people only install them if they don't tend to use their fireplace at all, other than for a conversation piece.

If your fireplace hearth is black by design and you're simply looking for a way to restore it to its original look, some simple fire resistant spray paint will do the trick. The only thing that you really need to be careful about in this particular case is that the overspray from the paint does not drift out into the room and damage your furniture.

Make sure that the flue is closed and spray in short bursts instead of continually spraying. This will help to keep any of the overspray to a minimum and most of it will fall within the hearth itself.