Fireplace Facelift
Phase 1: Regrout and Paint
When I decided to do a facelift on our dated (but perfectly fine!) fireplace, I knew that I wanted to find a way to brighten it up without losing the character the brick provides. After a lot of internet research I came up with regrouting with a lighter color! This project was super affordable, not too labor intensive and required ZERO tools. Completely beginner friendly, and the whole thing can be completed in a few hours.
Materials:
White sanded grout (I used the color Snow White)- $14.95
I bought a 25 lb bag and I only used a bit more than half of it. You could definitely buy a smaller bag if you find one.
Custom Building Polyblend Plus Sanded Grout
High Heat Spray Paint- $6.99
Rustoleum High Heat Enamel Spray- Flat Black
Painters Tape- $8.98
I like Frog Tape better than blue tape. I think your lines come out cleaner but regular blue tape would work fine too!
Total cost: $30.92
The How-To:
1: Mix your grout. This step requires a little math! Read the back of your grout package and see how much water they say to mix with the 25 lb bag of grout. I found it easiest to work in 1-2 lb sections so my grout didn’t dry out while I was still working with it. My bag called for 2 quarts (8 cups) of water per 25 lb bag of grout. So I divided 8 cups by 25 lbs to figure out I needed to add about 1/3 of a cup of water per pound of grout. I just mixed my grout in a tupperware with a fork! See, no tools. Follow the directions on the back of the bag for wait times etc.
2. Pipe the grout into your existing grout lines. I just transferred my grout into a gallon Ziplock back and cut the corner to pipe it the same way you would frosting in the kitchen. Some websites recommended removing a thin layer of grout, but I was going for more of an overgrouted look anyways so I skipped that step and it turned out fine! I found it easiest to pipe all of the grout I was working with into the lines first, then smooth it after it had a chance to set up for a few minutes. Warning, this part of the project is a bit messy… but the clean up is easy! After you pipe in the grout, smooth it into the grout lines with your finger. Keep a wet rag and a small water bucket handy to rinse and wipe off excess grout on your finger. Any grout that gets where you don’t want it will come off if you rub it with the wet rag.
3. Decide which (if any) bricks to lighten or white out. I recommend going light at first. You can always add more and the grout will dry lighter than it initially appears. To lighten a brick, rub some extra grout onto the brick in a thin layer. Then, rub the brick with your wet rag in circles to make a thin, even film.
Step 4: Spray paint your doors. Tape off about 6 inches around your fireplace doors, and any glass insert. Spray paint in even layers to cover.
