We have done it - picture is posted below, (not a great one, but it gives you the idea.
We had ugly brick 3/4 the way up the wall, covering the entire wall and the hearth was the length of the fireplace.
We took down most of the brick and tiled over it.
One of the biggest challenges was to find the right tile that would fit what we wanted to do without a lot of cuts that would show raw edges.
We then built the surround ourselves.
It took us a long time to gather the materials, order, etc.
Then we went to Lowe's and started laying out pieces of wood to come up with the surround.
It is really not that hard. Have you done tiling before?
As to whether it is a weekend project or not, there is no way of telling because you haven't given sizes, etc.
I always figure something I plan takes about five times as long and twice the money.
Besides, who cares if you can get it done in a weekend or if it takes longer --- the end result will be worth whatever time you put in.

Very nice no- green-thumb - esp like your 5 x long & twice the money advice!
blueiris - I posted a long answer in your other thread - didn't see this one - my FP is getting tile as I type - please read my other post.

thanks for your compliments, Mago - I read your response below and yes, this is not an easy, peasy project. It is not that it is so difficult, but it is very time-consuming. I think DH put those vertical pieces up one at a time. Obviously, a pro would have different techniques.
Maybe it should be 3x the money. It never ends up to be what is projected. It just takes a very long time. I have been reading the thread about updating a kitchen - the terra cotta one and there are many, many wonderful suggestions there, many of which would take a considerable amount of time. Of course, the end result is worth it, but projects like painting cabinets are very, very time consuming = unless, of course, you do them like they do on TV and don't even take the doors off first!!

no green thumb- tell your DH - the pro here put up the vertical pcs one at a time also. Your husband did a great job in the details - lining up the grout lines and - the placement of the center tile, getting the 2 legs to match. The floor to ceiling brick & and leans to left, just made me come to my senses and admit, I needed a really good tile setter. Yours is really nice looking!

Thanks again. When I said the tiles went up one at a time, I literally mean that. He built some brace to hold them up and waiting until each dried before adding the next one. It was very time consuming, but worth it.
As far as lining things up, I am the "engineer" of that. We looked for specific tiles that were sizes that would give us what we wanted. For instance, the small pieces on the hearth are about 3 or 4 inches wide - but they have a bull nose - and we wanted that, otherwise there would have been a raw edge there.
We had an estimate of over $1,000 just for someone to build the surround - after we had taken down the brick, which was the absolute worst part! So we started investigating - we always think if someone else can do it, we might be able to as well - and then starting drawing out plans based on sizes we found. It took forever and a Sunday to find the fireplace screen. But we are happy with the results.
Of course, then I start second-guessing myself -- hmm, maybe I should have gotten the beige color, now I am tied into blue, but then again I am always second-guessing my decisions! Thanks again for the compliments. I will tell DH at dinner tonight!