Newbie here and need help with questions

sil

I hired someone to tile my existing painted brick fireplace. I need to purchase the tile which will be travertine 12 x 12.
1. What kind of grouting do I need to buy?
2 What is the best way for the installer to adhere the tiles on my existing brick wall? He mentioned backboard or else wiring and mortaring (i think).
3. What is the lowest height I can tile the fireplace? I read it is 50 inches from the floor somewhere. Is this right? I am not going to add a mantel shelve. Above the travertine tiles will be the drywall which I will mount my 50 inch plasma television.
4. When I get the plasma mounted, would it look good if it overlaps the tiles or just have it against the dry wall?

I am not a do it yourself lady at all and I call for help. I just want to make sure that the installer is not ripping me off.
Thanks for your understanding.

jiggyjack

Not to be Jerk but if you hired a guy to do it, ask Him what he wants.

I could suggest, but it would be best to ask Him what he wants to work with.

scorrpio

If you are burned by the attitude of 'pros only' forums, no need for pretense here - this is, after all, DIY chatroom. So, if 'the hire' is your husband just say so.

Otherwise, if the hire is a pro, he should know what tile/grout/etc to use.

And some answers:
1. Grout. If by 'kind' you mean sanded vs unsanded, it depends on how wide you want the seams. Anything over 1/8" is sanded, 1/16" and below unsanded. This being fireplace and all, I'd say light shades of grout are not prudent.
2. I'd say either works. Backerboard is probably an easier solution unless your hire is a pro at floating mortar.
3. IIRC, minimum distance from the fireplace floor to combustibles is 46".
4. That would greatly depend on the tiles you select and your model of TV. I'd probably top the tiles with a thin narrow black granite mantle hiding the drywall edge and then mount the TV about an inch above that.

slickshift

Not that I know any Tile Guys that have the homeowner buy materials (no offense, that's sort of a red flag on the Tile Guy) for precisely this reason, but if he's actually a Tile Guy he should have told you exactly what to get (and don't deviate from the list at all, no offense again but that's another reason most pros don't let customers buy the materials)

If it's just a guy who says he'll tile for you, and doesn't know what materials he/you need, I'd seriously reconsider
It could pretty much be a disaster