the mantel

Finally to the mantel- the project Ben has been dying to finish up.  I definitely don't blame him.. after all, the stone was done in January!

In previous posts I'm sure you saw that I had wrapped the old crown with burlap as a temporary fix..

We spent many months staring at the mint green molding below- it's much mintier in real life!

Over the last few months we really went through all of our options- what we wanted the mantel to look like, what the finish should be and what materials we wanted to use.  Eventually we decided to wrap the existing crown with a large, clean beam that we would then stain. 

I don't really have good pictures of the cutting process (or the assembling process) since all hands were needed on deck.  But after cutting the three sides (with mitered corners), Ben sanded them all thoroughly..

After some trial and error we discovered assembling it and then installing it as a single piece was the easiest, so we fastened the sides to the front using brackets.  This was taken right before we got ready to lift it into place..

After the sides were screwed in place I was able to let go and take the picture below..

From the side view you can see that the new mantel is higher than the existing- leaving about a 2" lip.  We haven't really agreed on what to do with it at the moment- I'm pushing for a metal lined insert, Ben would prefer wood.. I'll keep you posted on who wins that battle.

 

That morning Ben said he wanted to finish up the mantel and move onto other projects since it would take "no time" to install.  Five hours later the mantel was up..

But like all of our projects we aren't quite done yet.. the wood still needs to be stained.  If only we knew what color stain the floor guy used..

finished fireplace

And finally the big reveal!

Everyday last week the guys made significant progress..
Unfortunately their last day of work was Friday- meaning I had to leave town before I saw the finished product. But coming home to it last night definitely made it worth the wait!
Ben even had a fire going for my return.

Next up Ben and I will install a new, bigger crown around the top to create a larger mantle.

fireplace progress

The fireplace face lift is officially underway- a few days later than expected, but worth the wait! Here's the progress to date..

Preparing the Hearth
Originally old marble tiles served as the hearth- I posted about my mother-in-law scrubbing them clean here. All of her hard work hasn't gone to complete waste- we definitely enjoyed them while we used them, but with the new stone facade we opted to replace the existing tiles with a slab of blue stone. But before that could be done, Ben had to chip away at the old tiles and cut the floor to the exact dimensions that we wanted the hearth to be.

So while we started out with this..
after an evening of chipping the hearth looked like this..
and then Ben got out the saw and started cutting away..

Acclimating the Stone
Last week I had mentioned the stone was being moved into the living room. Cold stone really can't be cemented and affixed so in an effort to warm it up it was given a few days to adjust to the temperature of the house. Meaning our living room is now basically a pile of rocks..

Installing the Stone
So with the stone acclimated the hearth was set yesterday- unfortunately I missed my chance to photograph it but now you have that much more to look forward to when I post the big reveal! But this afternoon they started setting the rest of the stone and I thought you might enjoy a little sneak peek..

the fireplace

The fireplace face lift is happening this week! While I hope to have an update for you at the beginning of next week I thought I'd share a few pictures of the stone so you'll have an idea of what's to come!

Last week the stone was delivered- unfortunately I couldn't get out to photograph it fast enough..

But the pile was well protected from the elements.

We decided since the face was getting an update the hearth should as well. We've opted to go with a 2" piece of blue stone that's currently living in the garage.
I was told the stone would be moved into the house tomorrow to help the temperatures adjust. I'll try to post a few pictures as soon as it makes it's way into the middle of our living room.

Poor Henry isn't too happy we've moved around his furniture again but he's adjusting as well as can be expected.

the fireplace

The previous owner of our house had turned the wood burning fireplace into gas. While gas is a great clean option (and much more practical for most), Ben and I decided early on that if it was possible our gas fireplace would be turned back to wood burning as soon as possible. To me, there's something wonderful about the smell- and I really don't mind the mess/smoke much either.

So while we have yet to give our fireplace a face lift- that will come in the next month or so, we worked to pull out the gas line and make it functional.

There were many repairs that had to be done in order to make it work

Removing the Gas Line
The plumber started working on disconnecting the gas line that ran up to the fireplace from the basement. Once the gas was shut down and the line was removed he removed the "innards" of the fireplace- including the faux logs and grate. So we went from having this..
to having this..
The black iron piece above is the new ash door that has yet to be installed- it's a little smaller than the one that we had to replace.

Repairing the Damper
Once the gas line was removed we knew we had to have a new damper installed. The old damper that was originally installed inside the chimney was broken. Because we had to install the damper on top of the chimney, we opted to go with one that seals shut, preventing not only snow and rain from coming in, but it also stops the hot air from escaping.
I was told that because we were going with such a great design we would be able to remove the doors and use a freestanding screen instead- something I've been fighting for.

While the damper was being repaired we had the chimney swept- something that's always recommended.

The Firewood
I assume you're supposed to have the fireplace repaired before you actually buy the wood- but as usual we didn't really follow the rules. A few weekends ago Ben and I went in search for firewood and came home with an entire cord.
And while Ben worked on the bathroom I started stacking. It may have taken me an entire Saturday, but I was happy to do it- knowing that in the end we'd get our fire.
And on Monday night we finally did..
Next on the list is removing the doors- I'm hoping to make my way to Saratoga Fireplace to buy a new screen and some proper tools later this week. We also have to have the chimney repointed and we're going to work on the facade. More to come in the next few weeks.