We are in the process of restoring a circ 1890 Victorian house; today’s subject is CERAMIC FIREPLACE FRONTS.

The tiles used are Trent, about 3” long by 1.5” wide. There are a few missing but we have a plan that we can live with. The wall, that the tile is mounted on, has deteriorated and many tiles are loose. The fireplace will not be used with anything other than gas logs and infrequently at the most.

We feel that the correct way to repair the FIREPLACE FRONTS is to remove the tile, repair the walls and reinstall the tile.

Question: What is the best way to remove the ceramic tile and minimize breakage? Are there any other ideas on how to make an old fireplace look good without destroying the tiles?

If you have to remove tiles try prying with a narrow flexible bladed putty knife. Remove all loose tiles and see if you can patch the wall behind them with out disturbing any other non-loose tiles. The tiles your missing, go to a tile store and see if they can order you ones that are missing. Take a tile with you. A professional tile store should be able to get a close match on those tiles.