Solid fuel open fire + marble hearth = disaster?

[Zebrs]

Hi all, I have a victorian open fire in my front room with the original (I suspect anyway) hearth tiles. I am not a big fan of the colour and want to replace them with a big slab of marble/granite which better suits the room.

Although I don't like the tiles, I do not want to break them in order to remove as I don't like the idea of removing a feature that has been here for 100 odd years.

Instead I'd like to cover them somehow and place the new slab on top. Does anyone have any experience of doing this sort of thing? Some brief reading around the web indicates the heat generated may damage the stone as the grate will simply sit on top. Is this the case or is it dependant on what stone you choose to do it with?

Does anyone know what it might cost to supply and fit such a slab considering the back of the piece will need to be cut to fit around the fire surround?

Thanks for reading

[MrNatty]

A solid fuel burner needs a 3-piece base to prevent it cracking. If you do have to remove the origianl tiles see if an architectural salvage yard will take them, as they are well sought after for period renovations.