Fireplaces
Stone fireplace surrounds and full-height chimney faces in ledger and natural veneer, laid out on the floor before a single stone is set.
01 / Fireplaces
Anatomy of a stone fireplace
A fireplace surround is a small wall with high stakes: it is the focal point of the room, it meets a heat source, and every sightline in the house ends on it. The parts have names: the legs flanking the firebox, the breast above it, the hearth at the floor, and the chase if the stone runs to the ceiling. Ledger panels give a linear, modern stack; natural veneer gives weight and randomness; full-height installs turn the chimney into architecture. The stone is the finish. The layout is the design.
02 / Fireplaces
How we build them
Layout happens on the floor before anything is set: we dry-lay the face, place the feature stones, and plan the courses so joints stagger and corners wrap with returns instead of raw edges. Clearances to combustibles come straight from the fireplace manufacturer's listing and the code, which decides where stone must be and where a wood mantel may go. Blocking for the mantel goes in before stone covers the wall. Cuts hide at the perimeter, tooled joints stay consistent, and the hearth gets set dead level.
03 / Fireplaces
When to reface or build new
New construction and remodels are the obvious moments, but the most common call is the dated fireplace: a 1990s brick face or builder-grade tile surround in a room that has otherwise moved on. Brick in sound condition can often be veneered over directly after surface prep, which turns a demolition project into a resurfacing one. Gas insert conversions are another trigger, since the new unit's clearances and face dimensions rarely match the old opening. One wall of stone, and the room reads as remodeled.
04 / Questions
Fireplaces FAQ.
Can you install stone veneer over an existing brick fireplace?
Usually yes. Sound, unpainted brick is a good setting base once it is cleaned and prepped, sometimes with a scratch coat to true up the surface. Painted or sealed brick needs the coating dealt with first so the mortar can bond. The result is a full remodel's impact without tearing the chimney face out of the room.
How close can a wood mantel be to the firebox opening?
That distance is dictated by the fireplace manufacturer's listing and the building code, not by taste, and it changes with how far the mantel projects from the wall. Deeper mantels need more height above the opening. We pull the clearance from your unit's documentation during layout, because a beautiful mantel installed too low is a hazard and an inspection failure.
Which stone holds up best around a fireplace?
Around a properly built firebox, the surround stone sees warmth, not flame, so most natural and manufactured veneers perform fine. The real selection questions are aesthetic and practical: ledger panels read modern and linear, tumbled natural stone reads rustic, and lighter stones show soot near the opening sooner. On the hearth itself, pick a dense stone that takes abuse.
Need fireplaces done right?
We respond within one business day with a site walk, a sample, or a line-item estimate.