Microcement Fireplace Surrounds

A fireplace is one of the most rewarding microcement jobs, because it is usually a single uninterrupted plane in the middle of a room. Run floor to ceiling with no joints, it reads as a solid mass rather than a clad box.

An indoor fireplace is a Core job

Surround, hearth and chimney breast indoors sit on the Core system: primer, two coats of microcement, two coats of sealer. It is dry and it does not move, so the mesh and build coat are not needed.

That makes a fireplace one of the cheaper microcement projects — roughly $8 a square foot in materials on a reasonable area, though a surround on its own is a small area and will price higher per square foot because products come in whole units.

What it goes over

Brick, block, tile, concrete board, plaster. Brick and block need filling and levelling first — you are aiming to start flat, because 2 mm of microcement will not bury a mortar joint.

The usual rule applies: sound and still. Loose render comes off. An old tiled surround gets tapped for hollows.

The honest answer about heat

Microcement is a mineral coating and it handles the warmth of a room with a fire in it. It is not a firebox lining.

The surround, the breast and the hearth are all fine. The inside of the firebox, and any surface in direct contact with flame or embers, is not a microcement job — that is what firebrick and the appliance manufacturer's clearances are for. Follow the clearance-to-combustibles distances for your appliance exactly as written.

Finish choice

Coarse gives a fuller, more mineral grain that suits a fireplace mass. Smooth reads finer and more contemporary. Many people run coarse to build and level over brick, then finish in smooth.

Worth combining

If the fireplace wall continues into the room, coating the whole wall rather than just the breast costs very little extra in material and removes the edge where the surround stops.

Microvella ships late 2026. Join the waitlist and we will email you the day it is ready to order.

Related: Microcement for painters · Doing it yourself · Shop the full system