How to Reface a Brick Fireplace With Cultured Stone

Locate and remove any broken or loose bricks by hand. Cut the metal lath liner with wire snips to fit over all of the brick, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered all the way around. Attach the liner to the brick fireplace surround with masonry nails.

Create a template of the fireplace surround out of cardboard. Lay the template on a flat surface and arrange the cultured stone on it until you achieve a pattern you like that is tight and efficient; number the back of each stone with a pencil if needed to remember the pattern. Mark any stones that need to be cut, then score them with a diamond-tipped bladed saw and break along the perforation with a mason's hammer.

Empty a bag of mortar mix into a mortar pan. Slowly stir water into the mortar with a trowel until the consistency is uniform and resembles cake batter. Apply a thin layer of mortar to the back of one of the bottom stones and press it into place.

Continue mortaring and placing the stones. Stop when you reach the top, lateral portion of the fireplace surround. Create a bolster from three 2-by-4 boards that are just a bit taller than the length of the space between the hearth and the top of the fireplace opening; stand two boards on end and lay the third across the tops, then nail them together.

Place the bolster just outside the opening of the fireplace. Mortar and install the stones that go on the horizontal portion of the fireplace surround, using the bolster to prevent gravity from pulling them down. Fill any large spaces between the stones with extra mortar.

Let the mortar dry completely. Spread grout in smaller spaces between each stone using a grout float. Dampen a sponge and clean excess grout from the surface of each stone.