JAMES MULLETT

Fireplace Calamity

We were preparing to get our Brazilian Walnut flooring installed, so we had our usual contractor get a mason to build us a stacked stone fireplace surround to replace the one that I demolished over a year ago. This way the flooring guy can work around it as apposed to trying to build a fireplace surround inside a void left by the flooring guy. Anyway, I wanted it to be stacked stone with no visible grout, coming straight out about a foot then curve around to the other side, and not to extend more than two feet from the fireplace. Well, this is where it was after the first night.

You can see that this thing is a mammoth. It extends almost three full feet from the fireplace and is almost a perfect semi circle. Not to mention that it is not stacked stone; it is cut and set. The problem with cutting and setting the stone is:

• Saw blade cut marks are visible in the front of the stone
• The color and appeal of the stone was cut off
• Half inch to three-quarter inch grout lines are obvious

As you probably guessed, I had it torn down and gave my contractor a design to complete himself. Here is where it’s at. Big improvement isn’t it?

I’ll post more pictures once the project is complete.