When installing a new fireplace or renovating your existing one, a stone hearth and wood surround will lend a rugged, casual beauty to your room. The following directions for Part 1 outline the installation of the hearth, including all requireds and materials.
                                              
Step 1: Measure the Floor Area for the Stone Hearth
Carefully measure all the dimensions of the stone hearth, including its length, width, depth and diagonals. Plot an arrangement of stones on a piece of sketch paper.

Step 2: Obtain the Stone Slabs and Slab Base Mortar
Take your diagram and measurements with you to the stone supplier to get suitable limestones, slab mortar and point mortar to complement or contrast with the stone color.

Step 3: Clear the Room around the Fireplace
Move all furnishings away from the existing fireplace hearth, to a distance of 10 feet or more. Lay a drop cloth on the floor beyond the hearth to protect the flooring in the rest of the room.

Step 4: Dig out the Existing Hearth
Using the hammer, chisel and pry bar, break up the existing outer hearth and remove it from the room. Wear eye protection, work gloves and steel-toed safety boots while performing this task to prevent injury to yourself.

Step 5: Sweep out the New Hearth Area
Clear away all debris from the old hearth and tape off the area for the new cubic stone hearth with painter's tape. The new hearth will surround the existing fireplace on three sides if it is built into a wall. It will completely surround a freestanding fireplace or wood stove.