Another home improvement project( 1st attempt)

[VINMAN]

Just finished a fireplace for a customer. Was leary about taking the job. Never worked with cultured stone before. But I said what the hell! Wasnt as bad as I thought. Not totally happy with the result but,the customer is thrilled with it, so I guess thats all that counts

The initial framing.




wire lath on the box


Setting the stone. this was the tough part


Finshed product.

[VINMAN]

Better angle

[mikester]

DUDE!

How did you do that mantel? I want to do one just like it on my Fireplace.

[stomachmonkey]

Vin,

Nice work for your 1st shot. I see the areas that are buggin you.

If the customer is cool then it was a good experience for you.

Next project will go even better.

Watched them build this one in my new place.

Seemed the secret for the good fit is to "shape" the rock by chipping away with a hammer.

Was really cool, guy would pick one up, look at the wall, look at the rock, whack it, turn it whack it, 3-4 times at most and bam it would fit right into place.

[VINMAN]

Thanks guys. The gold trim is only temporary. It is being replaced with a wider black trim piece. Im in the process of welding that up. That was the plan from the start. Its wider so that will cover the gap on the sides.

I still have to grout between the stones. Just waitng for them to decide on the color they want. They cant make up their minds

Mike the mantle is solid clear pine 1 3/4 thick. Beautiful piece of wood! Not a flaw in it. I didnt want to give it up. lol

[Danny_Ocean]

Why did you use lath instead of backer-board? (Not second-guessing, just curious)...

[VINMAN]

Dan, originally I had planned on using Durock or something similar , but the Owens Corning rep said to use the lath. Which I didnt understand because it can be mortred right onto any masonry surface. But, i didnt want to take any chances so I used it.

Thnks Pro. I really appreciate the opinions of other contractors!

[Danny_Ocean]

Hi-jack (also out of curiosity): Is it true there is no licensing for GC's in NC?

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Seemed the secret for the good fit is to "shape" the rock by chipping away with a hammer.

Was really cool, guy would pick one up, look at the wall, look at the rock, whack it, turn it whack it, 3-4 times at most and bam it would fit right into place.[/IMG]

Great if you're using real stone but VINMAN used cultured stone. If you break a piece of this the inside is white so you have to be careful and set the broken side a 1/4 deeper so the mortar will hide it. Nice job VINMAN. I did a similar job on my family room FP and then carried it out to the BBQ island I built a couple years back. Obligatory shots...

[VINMAN]

Thanks Dave, yours came out great! That bar is awesome.

The one thing I didnt like about the cultured stone, is that it is extremely fragile. Tryin to chip the edges, was tough not to break the piece of stone. Definatley not like the real stuff.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nicely done! My father-in-law used thin brick around the base of his house, the company rep recommended that he use lath as well.

[dad911]

Nice. When we use cultured stone, I frame the firebox recessed, so you use a stone corner around the box. IMHO looks more realistic.

[VINMAN]

I had thought about that too,but i was limited by the dimensions of the box and with the style of stone I was using. The corner pieces where huge. I felt that the size of the stone they picked was too big for that size of the fireplace. They didnt want to go any wider. (its only 5 ft wide) Plus there was an issue with the baseboard heating that limited the width also.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by procon

No, all GC's are licensed by the State.

Hmm...coulda been SC or GA? I'll have to do some research.

[rvanderpyl]

Here is a shot of what I have been working on, real stone veneer on our foundation, I figure by the time it is finished we will have placed around 12,000 pieces