New stove and hearth installed, advice please

[CharlieChocs]

Hi peeps,

I live in a Victorian semi which had a fireplace in the lounge. The fireplace was covered in slate so not in use. I made the decision to have a wood burning stove installed so used a local company that sells them and has sub contractors to complete the install. The work entailed opening up the old fire place, installing a 2 piece slate hearth, concrete lintel, brick up opening, liner, and install stove.

Once the installer had finished and left I noticed the hearth didn't look square. On closer inspections it looks at least 25mm out. I've since looked at the wall where the installation has taken place and noticed the walls aren't plumb but the installer never mentioned this during the install. Is it reasonable to ask that the hearth should be square? It is a feature of the room and to me it really stands out that it's off.

Thanks in advance

 

[begreen]

If the slate is cut true with equal sides and the problem is with the walls being that far out of alignment, then the slate will need to be removed and cut to compensate for the wall difference. I can't really fault the installer for this. They typically are not carpenters. Essentially you need to either have the walls corrected so that they align or have the hearth slate cut out of square to compensate.

 

[rwhite]

It's gonna look a bit wonky no matter how you do it. If you cut the slate to match a crooked house that would be the first thing you noticed. I used to love doing projects in our old 1940s house..you want level or square because you can't have both.

 

[begreen]

If the offset is on the back edge of the slate so that the front edge aligns with the floor I think it will look much better. We had to do an amazing compensation for an out of plumb wall in our house. Hid it in the door casing. Only the carpenter and I know it's there, even though it's off by more than an inch top to bottom.

 

[CharlieChocs]

That was kind of my thinking. If the front most prominent part is square you can try and hide the rest. The problem is the whole installation is sitting on this hearth so to alter it basically needs to be started again

 

[begreen]

What is holding the slate hearth in place now?

 

[CharlieChocs]

Render.

its not the fault of the installer that the walls are awful but would it not have been better to point out to the client the situation with them and the impact on the final result?

 

[rwhite]

Render.

its not the fault of the installer that the walls are awful but would it not have been better to point out to the client the situation with them and the impact on the final result?

IDK. The floor is covered in the pic so I can't see what the reference line is that they would have worked off of.

 

[Jags]

Typical would be to make the leading edge - be it linoleum,brick, slate, etc. square with the world. Compensate on the back end.
I would be temped to try and wedge out the out of square back corner and call it a day.

 

[begreen]

Typical would be to make the leading edge - be it linoleum,brick, slate, etc. square with the world. Compensate on the back end.
I would be temped to try and wedge out the out of square back corner and call it a day.

Yeah, that's why I asked what is holding the slate hearth in place. If it's mortared that would make this fix harder. If not, pry the deeper side away from the wall 25mm and get a short, wedge filler piece cut up to fit. Epoxy it in with black epoxy or maybe use black silicone to hold in place.

 

[electrathon]

I have a friend that does solid surface counter tops (usually granite). Different spot in the house, same issue. He deals with this every day. The correction should have been made on the rear side, making the front look square and optically correct. When you do an install you always make a template that you cut your stone to. The crookedness is fixed/masked and the stone is cut. If there is an issue he can't hide there would be a serious conversation with the property owner about the situation. It I were you I would be unhappy (read that as livid) about the quality of the work.

 

[CharlieChocs]

Thanks for the replies. Personally I think this is a case of quantity over quality. The guy told me he is working 7 days putting these in. Instead of having a conversation with me regarding the wall and which way we should go with it he's crashed on.

I totally agree with the template point.

 

[CharlieChocs]

IDK. The floor is covered in the pic so I can't see what the reference line is that they would have worked off of.