Fireplace surround

[james]

Here is the surround for our indoor fireplace. If you missed that thread, I tore out a very dated stacked stone surround (which will end up on my brick oven enclosure) and we just cut the new surround stone. It's 4 1/2" thick Texas Cream Limestone. We used one of those chainsaw type saws with a big diamond blade. The hearth stone in photo 1 weights about 1,000 lbs all by itself. Woof.

Fun is not the word I would use, but it definitely is interesting. You could see the dust storm from the end of the block. Hopefully it will look good when it's in place.

James

[christo]

Wow!

I love it. I was looking to buy a premade unit.

Looks like making your own is not out of the question?

Do you sand it smooth with woodworking sander to finish?

Chris

[james]

Hey Chris,

Funny you ask. We decided to have a hand chipped look on the field stone, and a more sanded smooth look on the hearth and mantel. The mason was here yesterday chipping away at the stone with a small hand pick. We all thought it felt sort of biblical, with the sound of the handmade chip, chip, chip in the background. :-)

The hearth goes in today.

James

[james]

Here is the photo of our new fireplace surround, with the stone set - but not the grout. This was quite a job, and I think it came out pretty good. We still have to see how it works with the rest of the room. We had a lot of trouble getting proportions right. Not too high, not too squat. Starting with the raised hearth was a challenge.

I was only a helper on this one.

James

[christo]

When I showed my wife the earlier pic, she was afraid it would not be formal looking enough for her tastes. I beg to differ. Especially with the latest pics. I really like the way it's shaping up.

I priced some limestone surrounds a few years ago and the ones I found were scary expensive.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Christo