When we began this renovation, I never realized how many details would be put under a microscope. Your home was put together from a multitude of decisions.
Details like what a reveal is (hint: it’s not done by a renovation show), where a GFI outlet goes, which way flooring should be run, color settings for LED lighting, the need to use a laser level when mounting lights, which grout out of hundreds to choose, etc….
Unless you built it with your own hands, or had a taste of building from a renovation, you won’t really get it.
Once upon a time our home had three fireplaces. Having the floors through almost the entirety of the home removed down to the dirt revealed that one was in the main bedroom behind the kitchen, but had fully been removed at some point. The second was in the front bedroom and had been walled up likely to cover its crumbling state.
When we bought our home the only fireplace we could see was this one. (This is from one of my favorite kind of days last fall…a day when my family gathers around, tv is off, and they make music together (I can’t carry a tune, but enjoy listening!). –This picture really encourages my heart and excites me about the possibility of getting back in the house soon!
The fireplace was a beauty, especially decorated for fall.
As difficult as the renovation has been, we are thankful to have exposed and remedied many of the issues in the home. The fireplace’s structure and its unvented gas logs with rusted gas lines, one of them.
Here you can see the disintegration of the mortar where rats once took over (evidenced by the store of nuts spilled out on the ground). Eew.
It looked a little hopeless.
When the house leveling process began, we learned the fireplace itself was not level. We had to choose to make the house work around the fireplace or risk the fireplace coming apart when the house was leveled. We decided a level house was priority and the face of our pretty lady cracked.
The foundation guys reinforced the base of the fireplace with cinderblocks and new brick.
It has become a “happy little accident” as Bob Ross would say. The face would have to be rebuilt. We were able to salvage original bricks from falling a rickety chimney hidden behind a wall in another room and from the yard where I found layers of original bricks buried.
My girls and I scrubbed and washed the old bricks, stacked them, and they sat for months while we waited.
This (hopefully) final stretch of the renovation brought a rush of workers to the house. Our foundation guy did great work and has become a friend. He has been an incredible resource too. Every single person he has recommended has done great work. The man who restored the fireplace was no exception. He is a true artisan. Waiting for the right person was worth it!
In addition to being a food blogger, my husband is a gifted musician. I am a graphic designer. We love when our clients trust us fully to create. On the rare occasion we hire out creative work, we try to step back and do the same. We showed Mr. Roy, a 71 year old brick mason, a few pictures and communicated that we wanted to restore the fireplace with its 1928 design. Then we stepped out of the way.
The first day he cut the bricks, turned the fans on, and let them dry out a little more.
The second day, he called to let us know he’d be done in an hour. When we arrived I got teary before my feet even made it to the front porch.
Mr. Roy made our fireplace look like it had always been here. And, we will NOT be painting the brick. We love the color variation in the original bricks.
Below you can see how it looked just before Mr. Roy finished. We love the imperfections and love how his vision took it to the edge of the wall.
And here it is today, the mortar much drier.
Sadly, the fireplace is not functional. I may get some fake logs at some point, but we have other pressing renovation things to do. We did decide not to have a hearth taking up floor space. This will allow us to put chairs on either side and make the room feel larger.
Follow Plant Life Today to see the next step….rebuilding the craftsman style mantle.