Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 2/12/2009

Question
Bruce,
I bought my house and it has gas logs with a black slate surround.  I would like to replace that with some veneer stones.  I was told the stone will be approx 2" thick, which if I placed that directly over the slate it would stick out too far and look awkward.  I would like to know what might be behind the slate surround (approx 6" in width)??  I was trying to determine if it was sheetrock since that would probably get destroyed when removing the surround.  I am hoping maybe the firebox extends that far.  In your opinion what can I expect to find that the surrounds are attached to??  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Parker Dowd, chances are pretty good that the slate is attached to drywall which abuts the firebox and probably glued on the drywall.  Using a flat scraper or wide flat chisel you can remove the slate without a lot of hassel.  Yes you may pull the paper off the drywall underneath but a skim coat of "thinset" over this will fill any voids and give you a good base for the veneer.  You can also get a thinner veneer stone and apply that directly over the slate.  With these kinds of projects you never really know what is underneath until you pull off the slate.  At that point you can determine the best way to fix the substrate.  I mentioned a coat of thinset but you might just need to skim it with drywall mud.  Or you may need to cut the old drywall out and add a new strip of drywall before adding the veneer.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com