At Home In The Woods
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OP
Obed
Elite Member
Fireplace Stonework
The stone on the fireplace got finished today. We are extremely pleased at how it turned out. The color of the mortar will lighten up a bit as the mortar dries. The stone mason worked hard at getting everything looking just right. My wife was concerned how the fireplace would look in real life. She drew a picture and gave it to the mason. She got the idea out of a magazine but she had to change the design somewhat to suit her.
I'm glad we got the solid stone for the hearth. The easy route would have been to use 3 or 4 cultured stones on the hearth instead of the single real stone piece. To get the single stone, my wife had to travel 90 minutes away to pick out a stone. Then she had to travel back to get it cut and pick it up. Then there was the issue of maneuvering a 400 lb. stone slab. The single stone was about 3 times the cost of the smaller cultured stone pieces. But in the end, I'm happy for the result.
We used the cultured stone instead of real stone. Real stone would have required a lot of structural support in the basement below the fireplace that we did not want to have to do. The cultured stone weighs much less than the real stone. The installation process involves attaching wire mesh to the wall and then coating the mesh with mortar. When the mortar dries, you attach the stone to the wall with mortar.
The 3 wide stones at the top of the fireplace up against the ceiling are normally used at the bottom of a window sill on the exterior of a house. The stones were turned upside down and placed against the ceiling. My wife got that idea from the stone seller. The other option was to put crown molding above the fireplace along the ceiling but we went with the stone at the top instead.
The mantel will be attached to the exposed 2x4's shown on the wall. We don't intend to have the mantel made until after we move in the house. That's a detail that can get done "whenever". We currently don't have a contact for a woodworker.
We had some issues with the stone guy's no-showing some days. We thought we might have to get another stone mason. However, he finally got things together and got the work done this weekend. He's a real nice country feller. We don't really understand the no-shows but they caused my wife some significant inconveniences. However, we're glad we didn't have to get someone else.
The stone on the fireplace got finished today. We are extremely pleased at how it turned out. The color of the mortar will lighten up a bit as the mortar dries. The stone mason worked hard at getting everything looking just right. My wife was concerned how the fireplace would look in real life. She drew a picture and gave it to the mason. She got the idea out of a magazine but she had to change the design somewhat to suit her.
I'm glad we got the solid stone for the hearth. The easy route would have been to use 3 or 4 cultured stones on the hearth instead of the single real stone piece. To get the single stone, my wife had to travel 90 minutes away to pick out a stone. Then she had to travel back to get it cut and pick it up. Then there was the issue of maneuvering a 400 lb. stone slab. The single stone was about 3 times the cost of the smaller cultured stone pieces. But in the end, I'm happy for the result.
We used the cultured stone instead of real stone. Real stone would have required a lot of structural support in the basement below the fireplace that we did not want to have to do. The cultured stone weighs much less than the real stone. The installation process involves attaching wire mesh to the wall and then coating the mesh with mortar. When the mortar dries, you attach the stone to the wall with mortar.
The 3 wide stones at the top of the fireplace up against the ceiling are normally used at the bottom of a window sill on the exterior of a house. The stones were turned upside down and placed against the ceiling. My wife got that idea from the stone seller. The other option was to put crown molding above the fireplace along the ceiling but we went with the stone at the top instead.
The mantel will be attached to the exposed 2x4's shown on the wall. We don't intend to have the mantel made until after we move in the house. That's a detail that can get done "whenever". We currently don't have a contact for a woodworker.
We had some issues with the stone guy's no-showing some days. We thought we might have to get another stone mason. However, he finally got things together and got the work done this weekend. He's a real nice country feller. We don't really understand the no-shows but they caused my wife some significant inconveniences. However, we're glad we didn't have to get someone else.
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dcyrilc
Super Member
Like everything else...
...All I can say is WOW. Looks great.:thumbsup:
...All I can say is WOW. Looks great.:thumbsup:
srs
Veteran Member
It's very frustrating with the no-shows. I hate that! If somebody can't make it everybody has a cell t/p to let you know one won't be there or will be late, or whatever. The workmanship done by this man is excellent!!!! I'm assuming he is the same guy who did the exterior, also great workmanship.
OP
Obed
Elite Member
We bought an antique cast iron claw foot tub that was manufactured in 1927. The date of the tub is on the bottom of the tub. When my wife was giving me the prices of new claw foot tubs, I got a case of sticker shock. When I went to the bathroom store, the first claw foot tub they showed me was $7,000 plus the cost of the faucet and the drain fixtures. The tubs my wife was looking at on the internet were something like $1,700 plus $700+ for the faucet. I had no idea these things were that expensive.
So I got on Craig's list and found this one for $725.
The faucet and drain for it will cost about another $100. $725 is still a lot of money considering the tub/shower in the hall bath cost about $350. However, $725 was still much less money than the new claw foot tubs. This tub is more interesting and will work wonderfully as a tub to relax in. The $700 and up faucets for the new tubs were killing me. Faucets go bad and have to be replaced; I would hate to have to fork out another $700 when the original faucet went bad. That smile on my face in the picture is genuine!
So I got on Craig's list and found this one for $725.
The faucet and drain for it will cost about another $100. $725 is still a lot of money considering the tub/shower in the hall bath cost about $350. However, $725 was still much less money than the new claw foot tubs. This tub is more interesting and will work wonderfully as a tub to relax in. The $700 and up faucets for the new tubs were killing me. Faucets go bad and have to be replaced; I would hate to have to fork out another $700 when the original faucet went bad. That smile on my face in the picture is genuine!
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OP
Obed
Elite Member
Chris,
I have verified that we are finishing the hardwood floors after painting.
Obed
OP
Obed
Elite Member
Bob,
That is something I don't think we considered when we chose the grout. The grout we chose in the kitchen is the same color as the tile; it's not real light. Unfortunately, the grout as seen here in the bathrooms is lighter. The grout work had just been completed when I saw your comments so I guess we'll have to live with it. I'm not sure if I could have convinced the wife anyway. Fortunately, the grout is not white; it is a beige color that I hope will hide some of the potential discoloration.
Obed
OP
Obed
Elite Member
Here's the master bath shower and tile.
For the seat, we had a choice between 18" or 24" on each side. While an 18" corner seat is not very big, a 24" seat would have been much too large for our shower. My wife can sit reasonably well on the 18" seat but it is pretty small for my derriere. We've just decided when we get too old and feeble to be able to stand in the shower, we'll remove the corner seat an use one of the portable aluminum and plastic old person shower seats.
The color or the tile has a story behind it. I hope our experience will help somebody else who reads this post prevent what happened to us.
The tile store only had one piece of sample tile for the selection we chose. Unfortunately, the sample piece was not a good representation of the actual tile. If you look at the pictures, you will see some pieces of tile that have no brown in them. Then there are others that have lots of brown in them. The store sample piece had no brown in it; it was one of the light beige colored tiles. So when the tile arrived, it was much, much, much browner and darker than we wanted. Actually, we didn't want any brown color at all; we wanted beige.
Unfortunately, my wife had to make the choice whether to send the tile back and get some more or keep the brown tile. Sending the tile back would have destroyed our schedule. We already had the tile guy onsite doing work. The prep work was done and the tile was ready to be laid. So my wife chose to keep the tile and keep us on schedule. She was then very sad and worried that both our bathrooms would be ugly. I think she has mostly gotten over that part. I actually kind of like the tile but it wouldn't have been my first choice.
The lesson learned is to make sure that you see enough pieces of the tile before choosing. One piece is not enough.
For the seat, we had a choice between 18" or 24" on each side. While an 18" corner seat is not very big, a 24" seat would have been much too large for our shower. My wife can sit reasonably well on the 18" seat but it is pretty small for my derriere. We've just decided when we get too old and feeble to be able to stand in the shower, we'll remove the corner seat an use one of the portable aluminum and plastic old person shower seats.
The color or the tile has a story behind it. I hope our experience will help somebody else who reads this post prevent what happened to us.
The tile store only had one piece of sample tile for the selection we chose. Unfortunately, the sample piece was not a good representation of the actual tile. If you look at the pictures, you will see some pieces of tile that have no brown in them. Then there are others that have lots of brown in them. The store sample piece had no brown in it; it was one of the light beige colored tiles. So when the tile arrived, it was much, much, much browner and darker than we wanted. Actually, we didn't want any brown color at all; we wanted beige.
Unfortunately, my wife had to make the choice whether to send the tile back and get some more or keep the brown tile. Sending the tile back would have destroyed our schedule. We already had the tile guy onsite doing work. The prep work was done and the tile was ready to be laid. So my wife chose to keep the tile and keep us on schedule. She was then very sad and worried that both our bathrooms would be ugly. I think she has mostly gotten over that part. I actually kind of like the tile but it wouldn't have been my first choice.
The lesson learned is to make sure that you see enough pieces of the tile before choosing. One piece is not enough.
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Diamondpilot
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Nice work. For your mantle I would have the guy who is building your cabinets make it for you. Really not that complicated for a guy like that. Then the installers can put it in.
Chris
Chris
