Return your fireplace to its former place of honor.
Warm and inviting fireplaces are appealing decorative features in any season, whether or not they hold a crackling fire. However, old, dirty or plain ugly brick fireplace surrounds take away from the aesthetics. Unattractive brick isn't permanent, though. With a little ingenuity and some creative flair, you can revive your old brick fireplace or transform it into something sleek and new. Put your fireplace back into the spotlight by giving it a fresh, clean look.
Scrub with TSP
Use a soft-bristle brush to scrub bricks.
TSP, or trisodium phosphate, is a heavy-duty cleaner available at most retail home improvement centers. Mix TSP in a bucket with water according to the manufacturer's directions. Generally, a gallon of water with 1/8 cup of TSP makes a good cleaning solution. Always wear rubber gloves when working with TSP, since it is a chemical that causes skin irritation, recommends Fireplaces Magazine. Arrange a sturdy dropcloth on the floor and hearth surrounding the fireplace to protect them from the inevitable drips and runs. Beginning at the top bricks, saturate and scrub well using a soft scrub brush. Do not use a wire brush, as it will scar and scratch the bricks. TSP removes years of grime and soot to reveal clean, fresher-looking bricks. Rinsing is messy, but necessary to remove all the residual cleaner. Begin with a clean scrub brush and a bucket of clean water, repeating the top-to-bottom scrubbing method used while cleaning the bricks.
Paint
Use an old, worn paint brush for painting rough brick.
Paint old fireplace bricks to give your room the look of a new fireplace. Several coats of white paint will seal the pores in brick, making them easier to clean in the future. Begin with a coat of high-quality primer for a more even surface that will stand up to years of cleaning. Use a roller with a very thick nap--the kind designed for textured walls and ceilings--to help reach into the crevices. If your brick has a lot of texture and deep mortar grooves, use an old paintbrush instead. There is no need to buy a special brush, since painting such a rough surface will make it unusable for future projects anyway, explains Lavonia Pint and Decorating. After painting, seal the surface with a water-based sealant to protect the paint. Gloss sealers add shine, but matte-finish sealers also work.
Resurface
Cover old brick with marble, ceramic or brick veneer tiles.
Marble or ceramic tiles instantly transform your fireplace with a whole new appearance. If you like the look of brick, but yours is simply ugly, cover your fireplace with thin, brick veneer tiles to make it look new again. Brick is an ideal surface for tiling, since it is stable and doesn't flex. Use a grinder or rotary tool with a stiff wire brush attachment to mar the surface of slick or smooth bricks enough to hold mortar or tile adhesive, recommends Ron Hazelton's House Calls. Use mortar as the adhesive foundation for brick, or commercial tile adhesive, also called mastic, for ceramic or marble. Insert tile spacers in between for even grout lines. Fill tile grout lines with grout (not caulk), or brick veneer grout lines with mortar. Use tile or brick sealer to the finished job to help with cleaning in the future.
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