Redoing my stacked flagstone fireplace

[splitsville]

I'm redoing the surround on my 35-year-old gas fireplace with stacked flagstone and had this issue I can't seem to solve on my own. Ok, I don't normally ask for help so imagine the stress to the point I signed up in a forum... a place where people ASK FOR HELP. I planned to replace all the drywall with durock, but the corners don't have studs. That leaves me with about 3" of drywall per side that I don't want to touch. Can I use stacked flagstone across both durock and drywall if I tape and mud the joints? Any input would help.

 

[Tangent_]

What's your plan for weight distribution, can the drywall sections actually support the flagstone long-term, or would it risk cracking or pulling away even with taped joints?

 

[Daliso]

I ran into a similar situation redoing the surround on an old fireplace. I ended up overlapping the stone across durock and drywall, I just made sure to mesh tape, thinset the joints, and use a flexible adhesive. It's held up great

 

[Baba.Yetu]

Drywall around a fireplace even a gas one isn't ideal if you're sticking stone to it coz if it ever gets too warm or sees moisture, you're risking adhesion failure, add some blocking behind the 3" strip or attach a thin backer over it to bridge the transition, that'd be better in the long run

 

[ASAHI79]

You can usually put stacked flagstone over both durock and drywall if you tape and mud the joints well, but make sure the drywall is solid and in good shape. The key is good prep and using the right mortar . Just keep an eye on any weak spots near those drywall edges since they arent backed by studs. Overall, it should work fine if done carefully. Good luck!

 

[FlameKeeper]

Absolutely! You can definitely connect durock and drywall as long as your drywall is in good shape and those joints are nicely taped up. Just make sure to pick the right mortar for the job, and keep an eye on those unsupported edges. Trust me, doing a solid prep will make all the difference