We removed the drywall that had been covering a brick chimney in our living roo. (Chimney is no longer used.) There is now a space 3/4" deep and 2 3/8 wide betwwen the brick and our hardwood floor. I've found some mosaic tile I'd like to lay around the base of the chimney but I know I can't just fill all that empty space with grout or mortor, can I? I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Yeah, you probably could just fill that space with grout or mortar, but it would look better filled with something else.

Mixing real wood and ceramic tile is always problematic because real wood swells and shrinks with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity, and ceramic tile simply doesn't have the elasticity to accomodate those dimensional changes in wood.

Ideally, it would be best if you could fill in that gap with more hardwood.

If that's not feasible, you CAN tile that narrow gap. I would fasten either strips of tile backer board or strips of Schluter "Ditra" to the floor and set pieces of tile over the backer board or Ditra. And, I can see grouting that tiling being kinda messy with a wall on one side and hardwood on the other. Painter's masking tape is probably gonna be a life saver for you here.

I think your best, cheapest and easiest solution would be to extend the hardwood flooring in that gap up to the brick, and then "sponge caulk" any remaining gap between the new hardwood and the brick.

Post again if you don't know what I mean by "sponge caulking".

Thanks, Nestor. And no, I don't know what "sponge caulking" is.
I'm trying to figure out the least expensive way to fill that gap. The house is 100 years old, so there are already lots of "character flaws" in it. I just don't want to add another one of those things that make the next owner wish I'd spent a little more time and effort on the project.

Post a picture.
Sponge caulking is Nesters way of saying, apply the caulking then wipe it off with a damp sponge to clean it off of the area.

If it wuz me, I would try to match the existing floor by inserting more hardwood. Since you're close to a wall, you're not in a traffic area, and so it wouldn't even matter if the new hardwood wasn't exactly flush with the existing hardwood.

"Sponge caulking" is a method commonly used to deal with small gaps that inevitably occur when mating surfaces aren't straight. What you do is use a colour matching (if possible) latex caulk to fill the joint, use your finger to moosh the caulk into the gap and then immediately wipe the wet caulk off with a damp sponge. The result is that all of the caulk is removed EXCEPT that which remains behind in the narrow gap. If there's a good colour match between the caulk and the material on either side of the gap, the gap appears to disappear.

Since latex caulk dries quickly, you only sponge caulk a few feet at a time.

So, for example, if you had baseboards that were painted white, but your wall studs weren't really straight so that the drywall on the wall was wavy, after installing your baseboards you would see a dark gap of varying width between the baseboard and the wall. The way most people would get rid of that problem would be by sponge caulking that gap with a colour matching white latex caulk. By making that gap disappear, you eliminate the visual evidence that the baseboard or wall or both aren't straight, and the observer's brain presumes they're both straight for lack of any evidence to the contrary.

If you can get a latex caulk to match the colour of your hardwood or brick, you can make it look like the new hardwood comes up perfectly flush with the brick wall.

Coloured caulk is quite expensive at about $8 per tube, but sponge caulking with a colour matching caulk gives good results that would otherwise be unattainable. Just Google "colored caulk" and you'll find lots of manufacturers selling the stuff online. Some manufacturers will even make up a tube of the colour you want if it's not otherwise available.

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