With our fireplace refacing plan finalized and supplies ready, we jumped into step one: tile. Here’s a complete rundown of the process we followed—from prepping the surface and installing cement board to cutting, setting, and grouting the tile.

We planned to tile a narrow border around the firebox—only about 7 inches wide—because the remaining brick would be framed out with wood and MDF later. Since the wood surround would sit on top of some of the tile, it made sense to do the tile work first.

Before starting, check local codes to make sure the wood surround isn’t too close to the firebox. Our local code required at least 6 inches of tile before the wood surround could begin. Also, in case you wondered, the tile color is not a weird yellow-green—honest.

We chose a marble subway tile available at a national home center for about $5 per square foot. Before installing tile, we had to create a smooth, stable surface. We attached 1/4″ cement board to the existing brick using the score-and-snap method to cut the board and heavy-duty masonry screws with a masonry bit for the drill. It was dusty work and much easier with two people—one holding the board while the other drilled.

We cleared the mantel of all decor and removed the old wood top as part of demo work before tiling. For the bottom hearth, we adhered the cement board directly over the existing hearth with heavy-duty construction adhesive, then weighted the boards down overnight. Later we added a few screws at the corners for reinforcement.

Adhering the cement board over the old hearth was a practical choice for our house because we previously installed cork flooring over an old linoleum to avoid disturbing a suspected asbestos underlayer. Tiling directly over the cork and cement board kept the finished surface aligned and avoided an awkward raised edge.

To protect the cork floor from thinset and grout, we taped down rosin paper before starting. We also laid out all our tile ahead of time. Buying a few extra boxes allowed us to set aside chipped or discolored tiles and choose pieces with pleasing veining distribution. We ended up using about 90% of the tiles and returned the rest as overage.

For the hearth, we decided on a herringbone pattern, paired with a traditional brick-lay pattern around the fireplace surround. Since the visible border around the firebox is narrow, a simpler brick pattern keeps the look from becoming visually chaotic while a herringbone hearth feels special and intentional.

Almost every cut on the hearth was a 45-degree angle, so a triangle square was extremely helpful. We made the cuts with a wet saw. Marble can be a bit brittle, so some corners broke off as cuts finished, but overall it was simpler to work with than other tile types we’ve used.

We mixed thinset and began setting tiles. The process is straightforward but time-consuming because of all the small, angled cuts. Once we established the pattern, the work became repetitive and efficient. The bottom portion took about four hours, including a lunch break, and the upper portion the next day went faster because it involved more straight cuts.

Where the tile edge would be covered later by the MDF surround, we didn’t obsess over perfect edges. Instead we staggered cuts so we could reuse both halves of a cut tile, minimizing waste and making the layout cleaner and more economical.

After all the tiles were set and the thinset cured, we grouted the next evening using a non-sanded grout in a Snow White shade that reads as a very soft gray. Grouting was quick—about 45 minutes—and made a dramatic visual difference. We smoothed the grout joints with a damp sponge to remove excess and refine the finish.

Once the grout had cured according to the manufacturer’s instructions, we sealed the tile and grout with a tile sealer we already had on hand. Sealing took only a few minutes and helps protect marble and grout from staining.

The project totaled roughly seven hours of hands-on work spread over a couple of days. Material costs were modest: two sheets of cement board ($16), construction adhesive ($2), subway tile at about $5.50 per square foot (around $70 total), grout ($11), and various supplies we already owned such as thinset, tools, and sealer. With gift cards and leftover materials on hand, our out-of-pocket cost was lower, but a reasonable budget estimate without those discounts would be closer to $150.

We’re excited to move on to building the surround, reconstructing the mantel, adding trim and molding, priming, and painting. The finished marble subway tile hearth and surround feel like a major upgrade and give the fireplace a refined look without an excessive budget or extreme effort.

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