{fireplace makeover using airstone: before & after}
 You’re probably wondering how expensive it is, because I would want to know the same thing. It comes in boxes that will cover 16 square feet, and each box retails for about $50, available at most Lowe’s stores. We needed just over one box, so we purchased two of them, and spent just $100 (with some leftover for another project) on the stone. You also need a bucket of adhesive, which cost us $15. There is a TON in the bucket, and was more than enough for our entire project with also some leftover. Our fireplace is flat to the wall, with no corners, but they do sell boxes of corner pieces for those of you that do.
It comes in two different colors: Autumn Mountain (which is what we used) and Spring Creek. Autumn Mountain has warm tones–creams, browns, and tans, while Spring Creek is of a cooler tone, and lots of greys. I loved both, but the Autumn Mountain color matched the rest of our home better–our existing tile, carpet, and cabinetry–which we would not be replacing. Our trim is also a cream, rather than white, and it made a big difference as well in what our choice would be.
When we bought it and brought it home, I wasn’t sure how easy it was actually going to be. Even though I didn’t like it, we would still be destroying a brand new fireplace, and once we started hammering, there was no going back. But…I hated the tile enough that I didn’t care. ☺I figured anything would be better than that! So…we went for it! I was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward it was, and while it does take some time to do right (what project doesn’t?), it wasn’t hard. I’m going to show you how we did ours! ( Most of the work was one at night, thus the photo quality of some pictures…)
Step 1:Â
We removed the front glass part of your fireplace, and put it aside. Then the fun part began—demolition time!!! We used several tools to help us remove the tile around the fireplace, including a hammer and dremmel. We tried to keep the cement backer board, but it was impossible to remove the tile and keep it intact. I didn’t remove the tiles from the bottom floor of the fireplace–you’ll see what we did later in the post.
Kierste Wade is a published author, blogger, and mom to six. With more than 20 years DIY and project experience, she has been sharing ideas on her blog since 2009. Focusing on simple and doable projects, she loves to share attainable ideas for all things home, holidays, and family. Kierste has been featured on Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV, American Farmhouse Magazine (print and online) Taste of Home, Country Living, and more.
Wow! It looks AMAZING! I love it!!
Thank you so much!! xo
Love how it turned out!
Thank you, Mona!!
I love this! Thanks for the great tutorial too!
You are so welcome!!!
VERY nice! I like it! Great tutorial and pix.
Love it! We saw this at Lowe’s not too long ago and decided that’s how we’re going to update our fireplace…added it to the project list. :) Nice to see it in action. :)
Kelly
You’ll have to let me know what you think!!! Glad you got to see it before you tried it! xo
What a transformation. I love this!
Your fireplace turned out beautiful.
Thank you so much, Sandi!!
What?! This looks amazing!!! I would LOVE to do something like this to our firepace. Our is just black slate or something like that? I really want to do a brick looking Air Stone type of thing. Do they have that?!
They don’t right now–just the stone in the two different colors. You should go take a look—you might like one of them! And who knows…maybe they’ll come out with a brick one day!!!
Looks great! My friend want to do hers the same way and has the same problem with the bottom tile. How did you paint it?
It was actually pretty easy! I taped off the carpet, pushing back the fibers to get right to the edge of the tile. I used our leftover trim paint from our house, so it would match the trim around the fireplace and just blend in. It’s an acrylic paint, so it took a lot longer to dry, but I think it will be a lot more durable. That’s it!! It’s holding up beautifully!!! If she has any other questions, please let me know!! xoxo
Did you have to use a high temperature adhesive? Have you had a fire going yet and did the adhesive hold? I’m interested in doing the entire wall. What are your “cautions”?
Thanks!!!!!
The Air Stone adhesive is safe to use around fireplaces, so that’s what we used. We moved to Texas last year, and we didn’t use our fireplace the entire winter. :) Maybe this year, lol! You can get even more info on their site: http://airstone.com/faqs/
You’ll have to let me know what you do!
Here’s a quote from the the Air Stone site’s FAQ’s:
Is AirStone safe to use around fireplaces?
AirStone is non-flammable, non-combustible and safe to use around wood stoves and fireplaces. It has a Class A rating in accordance with ASTM E-84 standards. AirStone Interior Adhesive is rated up to a temperature of 120ËšF. If the area in question exceeds this temperature, select an appropriate adhesive.
How did prevent the row above the opening of the fireplace from slipping or sagging?
We didn’t do anything other than use the adhesive to put the bricks in place, and it’s doing awesome–no slipping, budging, etc. It’s been a year and holding up perfectly!
Looks great!! We are planning to do the same but I am leaving the tile which are 12 x 12 and trying to get Vineyard blend. We have tile on the floor too which I am going to paint. I once painted the tile on a back splash and it came out fantastic. I used a primer and then enamel paint. I am surprised the acrylic paint worked over the tile for you.
But the whole project looks awesome.
Sounds like a great plan!! I’m excited for you! Yes, the acrylic paint worked perfectly for us, and it’s still holding up great. :) Thanks so much for stopping by!!! xo
You mentioned $50 for a box that covers 16sqft…where is that purchased from? I searched the product and can only find $50 to cover 8sqft
Those were the prices when we did it–and we were able to get it on sale, which made a difference. We bought it at The Home Depot–I’m not sure how often they run sales, but it’s certainly something you could ask about!
I was wondering if you had to support the top section (above the open section of fireplace) until the adhesive dried?
No, we didn’t! The airstone is pretty light, and it was really easy to work with!
I have black slate round my fireplace, can I put the air stone over it?
Is the slate completely flat? Or is it uneven slate? Here’s the FAQ’s for Airstone, and it doesn’t mention slate, so I’m not quite sure. It might be worth reaching out to them and asking!
http://airstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AirstoneInstructons.pdf
http://airstone.com/faqs/