so, I’m doing up an old fireplace, eventually to take a wood burning stove, cleaning up the bricks at the back, no problem, but the bricks either side are covered in nasty uneven, dirty old cement, which isn’t coming off. so, I thought I could render the sides, but what could I use, is there ready mixed stuff out there? Or if not what should I use? I’ve heard 4 parts plastering sand to 1 part cement?

You could render it but it’ll no doubt crack like a bastard once you get some heat on!

You can get a heat resistant render but the one I saw was pricey. Being a cheapskate I used a lime render. The lime makes the render more flexible so less likely to crack. This is my woodburner’s second winter and I’ve got away with it so far.

aah, i’ve heard about lime mortar, so I assume lime render is the same? B&Q or specialist place?

Ive used the premixed (just add water) mortar for patching render and so far it’s bean great.
As above though, cracking might be an issue unless you leave it to dry for a long time.
There is a fire resistant board you can get that does a good job though – just goes on with dabs and can be painted.
I’ll try and find the name for you.

Tiles?

you can get ready mixed fire cement that you could use. most builders merchants sell it.

bob, the surface would need a lot of prep for tiles, very uneven walls…

I bought a sack of lime from a builders merchant but B&Q may sell it. I can’t remember exactly what mix the plasterer used. The boards mentioned above may be a good idea, relatively easy to fit and I think it you can get different textured finishes to make them more interesting.

Supalux.

use a 6:1:1 sand:lime:cement mix. I am considering doing the same to ours but given the distance to the bricks from the fire, I might leave them as they have a nice look. as the very least i’ll be repointing using that ratio.

4 years ago I used 600 x 300 polished porcelain tiles on mine, directly on to the brickwork. I used webber rapid flex addy, I’ve clocked the tiles at 175 degrees regularly with an ir thermometer. Gave them a good scrub first with water, then dilute brick acid then primed with ball 131 neoprene primer. The sides were ridiculously uneven so I used offcuts of the tiles to pack it out buried in the addy.

Jobs a goodun

cheers all, think I’m going to go down the lime render path, will need to repoint the bricks at the back anyway, so may as well use the same mix as suggested…