We are building a heart for our brick fireplace. The new hearth is basically a box, projecting from the fireplace, constructed of 2x4s and OSB, sealed and primed, and wrapped with Tyvek. We want to apply a brick veneer (standard brick, not face brick). I've read that you don't need to use wall ties when the brick goes up less than 3 feet. In this case, the hearth is only 15" tall. However, I still think the brick should be tied to the wood structure. Any suggestions?

The tin man will be thrilled your making a heart for him.
Only teasing.
Your is a little confusing.
Is this outside or inside?
Trying to figure out where the 2 X 4's and OSB come in?
Not sure where why there's Tyvek and all this sealing involved.

Joe the way that I read the OP was that it is a heart and will have brick facing on the sides from the floor to the top of the hearth. I take it that the substraight will be wood framed. Wonder what the OP is going to cover the top of the hearth with? A better choice would be Concrete or Hardee board and forego the tyvex since there needs to be this type of material on the top of the hearth. Maybe the OP will chime back in and offer a little more inf.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,

Your guess is as good as mine.
The back wall needs an air space and not be in direct contact with a flamable material.

Yup, it's a little confusing.

However, to make an answer: go ahead and use the ties, even for the 15" high wall. It seriously takes more effort to make a post on here than it does to add a few brick ties as you are installing your brick. Pennies worth of material and a minute or two of time - if overbuilding is that easy then go ahead and do it just for the peace of mind.

Thanks for the responses. To clarify: Indoor fireplace. The original "hearth" looked like a little cement bench in front of the fireplace. Want to make it larger. Created a larger box around the existing small "bench." Used cement board and then ceramic tile for the top. Wanted to use .5" facing brick around the sides, but couldn't match to the original brick. However, we found standard size brick that matched. So, we are bricking the hearth essentially like we would brick the facade of a house over sheathing. Sealed the OSB and wrapped it just to prevent moisture from the mortar from causing any problem. Probably way overkill, but easy to do, and better safe than sorry.

quote:

It seriously takes more effort to make a post on here than it does to add a few brick ties as you are installing your brick. Pennies worth of material and a minute or two of time - if overbuilding is that easy then go ahead and do it just for the peace of mind.

Just one other thing: I had encountered articles that said that wall ties can actually cause problems. So, I posted not to save time or money but to see if anyone would comment that adding wall ties was NOT the way to go because <reasons>. Again, thanks for the comments.

For a 15" high interior hearth wall, the brick ties are not really needed - especially if there is some secure cap on the top that holds everything together.

But, like I said above - they can't hurt if you want to use them. I can't imagine a brick tie causing a problem. You're looking at a bendable metal tab that doesn't even have to be perfectly aligned with anything. The only reason to fill in your blank with a reason NOT to use them would be that they are really not needed in your case.

If it were me, I wouldn't bother using them, not for a 15" high wall.

I would do it simply for the looks. It's not that hard of a project, and since you're doing it to make the whole thing larger, yeah, add the brick. It should make it look nicer.