Since time immemorial, man has felt the need for natural warmth. What better way to get one than а fireplace with real live fire? In order for this important, even main accent in the interior to look good, and to perform its function of heating the room as well as possible, its facing is particularly important. Nowadays, there are many options for fireplace facing and surround materials on the market, from which you can choose - from the absolute classics such as fireplace stone facing through other materials with natural ingredients such as bricks and various types of ceramic tiles, to their artificial substitutes such as faux stone.
However, all these options must meet a number of requirements so that your fireplace facing and surround is not only good-looking, but also safe and functional. Among the most important features of the fireplace facing materials are:
Fire resistance - the fireplace facing material must withstand temperatures up to 1000° C (1850° F).
Thermal conductivity - the fireplace facing must absorb and accumulate the heat of the fire and give it quickly to the room - its heating mainly depends on this feature of the material.
Strength - the material must be dense and strong enough to withstand severe temperature fluctuations and intense heating. The strength of the material can be easily judged by its porosity - the smaller the porosity percentage, the stronger it is.
Moisture resistance - the fireplace facing must be resistant to moisture and condensation.
Durable color - whether it is a natural or man-made material, its coloring must be durable enough not to fade quickly under the influence of high temperatures, condensation and other adverse factors.
Aesthetics - since the fireplace is a natural accent in the interior, its facing should be not only durable and functional, but also good-looking.
As already mentioned, fireplace facing materials can be natural and artificial. The natural stone fireplace facing is the most classic option. Bricks and various types of clay tiles - terracotta and similar - are also composed of natural materials, although man-made. Various alternatives are also available, such as faux stone fireplace facing, made entirely or partially of artificial materials, as well as some less commonly used options - such as facing with metal panels, etc.
Among the most commonly used natural fireplace stone facing options are marble, granite and travertine (usually as a stone veneer). Marble is a natural stone with a medium degree of hardness. It is easily processed and polished. Marble is resistant to adverse effects such as chemicals, moisture, high temperature, etc. Granite is a natural rock of magmatic origin, distinguished by its high density, strength and heavy weight. Travertine is a softer natural stone that, however, retains its attractive appearance for a very long time, even decades. Due to the high content of iron oxides, it tends to yellow over time.
Unlike natural stone, brick and various types of ceramic tiles are man-made, which allows for controlled repetition of color and pattern and the creation of a fireplace facing with complex figural compositions if desired.
Faux stone fireplace facing or thin brick veneer, on the other hand, combine many of the advantages of natural materials with the controlled look and shape of real bricks and ceramic tiles, as well as much lower weight. In addition, they are usually much easier to install and often much more affordable.
When choosing a material for fireplace facing and refacing, of course the most important thing is that it meets at least the requirements described above. In addition, however, it is important that its color palette is suitable for the room in which the fireplace is located - after all, as we have repeatedly noted, it is the fireplace that is the natural central accent of any interior and the point of attraction for everyone in the room.
However, the color of natural fireplace stone facing products is determined not only by the desire of the person, but also by the natural characteristics of the material. For example the color range of marble is very diverse. Thanks to the different composition of the stone, it can take on the most unusual colors - white, black, green, blue, red, gray, beige and so on - and some colors are extremely rare and therefore more valuable. Granite is less diverse. Despite the fact that there is a huge amount of different shades of granite, all of them can be conditionally divided into three main groups - gray, black and brown. Travertine has a slightly richer color range. The most common are white, beige and yellow shades. Red and dark brown travertine stones are quite rare in nature and therefore especially valuable.
As for man-made products, there are no restrictions on color choice. Some types are tinted already at the production stage, and some can be painted later again. In many cases, faux stone fireplace facing products imitate as closely as possible the color palette of natural stones to resemble them to the point of being extremely difficult to distinguish, but they also often come in a wider range of shades to make the choice easier.
You can see some nice options for fireplace stone facing here:
https://stoneselex.com/brick-and-stone/Fireplace-Stone-Refacing-1015
https://stoneselex.com/brick-and-stone/stacked-stone-fireplace-GTA-1219
https://stoneselex.com/Stone-Veneer-Fireplace/Fireplace-Stone-Facing