Happy New Year, sweet friends! I hope y’all had a wonderful holiday! We sure did! And what would a new year be without a new project? Come over and see the beginning of our fireplace makeover!
Well, just 3 days into the new year, we decided to tackle a HUGE project! A fireplace makeover! The fireplace and gas logs were original to the house when we bought it. And while the style is very unique, I still longed for a mantle where we could hang stockings, etc.. Plus, due to the sloped angle of the wall, it was nearly impossible to hang anything above the fire box and make it look right. So yesterday my husband, Brad, decided to take a peak and see what was behind the white structure. (I’m calling it a structure because honestly I don’t know what it’s called.)
My husband determined that the fireplace structure was not hollow as we suspected, but made of styrofoam and some sort of paper mache. It all needed to be removed. So, he started at the top. And for perspective, this is a 16 foot ladder.
Brad scored the top of the structure and then used a hammer and chisel to break it away from the wall. Then he slowly peeled it back.
It took a while, but finally Brad got the outer layer removed. What’s left looks like styrofoam glued to a cement board with anchors to hold it into place.
He chiseled away at the styrofoam and removed the larger pieces in chunks. Can I remind you how messy styrofoam can be? It’s MESSY.
We discovered the shelf directly above the firebox was also made of styrofoam. Ugh.
Luckily we put down tarps over most of the furniture, floor and fire logs before we started. We used the shop vac to clean up along the way. It was still a huge mess, as we expected.
You can see there is extensive damage to the sheet rock and still a lot of cement board and styrofoam to be dealt with. We decided instead of scraping off all of this, we will remove most of the sheet rock and replace it with new. Also, the gas logs mysteriously stopped working this year, so we need to have someone come out and take a look before we go any further. It’s possible we may need to replace the gas logs, so this would be a good time to figure that out, right?
And yes, we decided to start ripping out the fireplace BEFORE we took down the Christmas trees! LOL. Typical of us. Unfortunately, this will be our view for several weeks. Like any DIY project, things must get worse before they get better. The plan is to A-Make sure the gas logs can be repaired. B-Rip out the damaged sheet rock. C-Repair said sheetrock, patch and paint. D-Build a fabulous new mantle and surround. Easy peasy. (Says me ,the assistant and not Brad who is doing all of the work.) Lacey and Lamb Chop feel confident it will all turn out beautifully in the end.
So, I’ll keep you posted on our progress! I’ve been wanting this ever since we moved in and it’s finally happening. A big thank you to my sweet husband, who humors me and goes along with my crazy plans! (Most of the time.)
And thank you all for stopping by and supporting me and my little blog! It means a lot to me! I hope to share lots more with you this year. With lots of projects in the works, it probably won’t be daily, but know I love dishing with you! Hope y’all have a wonderful week! Much love, Dell
2 comments
Oh my goodness, Dell! Now THAT is a project 🤣. Should keep y’all busy for the winter!
Yes, Debbie! It’s a HUGE project indeed and there’s no going back now! We are committed. Now we need to make sure the existing logs can be repaired, then we will decide on a mantle and surround. So many decisions! Yikes! Hope you are well my sweet friend. Miss you! xoxo Dell