Re-Facing a Fireplace - Part 2

So I don't have much of an update for you but I was able to work on more of the fireplace last night. This could have easily been a weekend project, but with me going on a business trip and us being so busy, it's turned into a week long project due to limited groups of time. 

Once you have your flooring or hearth set, you can begin playing with the stones to see which combination of sizes and colors you like best. Keep in mind that the edges do not have to all line up, especially if you're wanting a realistic stone appearance. Also, the stone is easy to write on with a pencil and take your hacksaw outside to trim in. They break easily under pressure, so be careful as you hold the stone to trim it. I was also told that the stone was as easy to trim as slicing bread....false. It's not crazy difficult where you need a table saw or anything, but it does take a couple minutes to accomplish and makes tons of dust (we recommend doing it outside).

It was also recommend that when you go to put adhesive on the back of the stone, your should ice it like a cupcake, not like you're buttering bread. Now I LOVE sweets...so this analogy may not have been the best for me since I did one whole side of the fireplace slathering adhesive on the backs of the stones and then have to wedge cardboard between the pieces so they didn't slide and become un-level (we used a level after sticking every stone to the wall, it really helped!). When I went to do the other side, I realized that you really only have to put a glob o adhesive in the middle of the stone and when you stick it to the wall and push it will disperse the adhesive under the stone, thus making cleanup much easier and less frequent.

After we finished the first side, notice we waited to do the top until we got both sides done.

After we got both sides done, notice that I used thin pieces of cardboard wedged between the drying stones to help them dry level, then pull them out when it's dry.

We also ran into an issue that was quote unexpected, our stones didn't meet up with the top of our fireplace, so we have to get kind of creative. We attempted to cut two stone into thin pieces that would help us finish the sides (see at the top on the right side of the fireplace a thin layer of stone). This was difficult and the thin pieces cracked, but we adhered them back together and then stuck them to the wall anyway. We have yet to do the same to the left side, I'm quite nervous about it actually, but I'm super excited to get to adhering the stones to the top! 

Another step that we didn't plan on needing is one that will come at the very end. The pictures are good enough to show you, but our fireplace is set back into the drywall around it and there are gaps between it and the drywall which look pretty bad. We've decided to purchase light gray caulking and add it around the fireplace edges to make the entire project look like it belongs in the house. Also, consider touching up pain around your project once it's finished.

We're very excited to get this project wrapped up and start enjoying our accomplishment. One final tip for you, if you think you may change out your fireplace unit someday, make sure not to cover the sides or top of the unit with stones or else you'll have to redo your new facing.

Happy Living & God's Blessings!

J.M.