all in a (satur)day's work

i still can't believe that i did this...all by myself!  of course, it isnt finished- i still need to caulk and paint the surround and grout the tile (in case you are wondering, those pilasters will also be white)

the level of difficulty of this project was pretty low- since the entire mantle and surround was purchased as a kit of parts that you simply need to attach to the wall in the correct order...easy peasy.

the tile is glass mosaic that we purchased at lowe's, and i used a couple of aluminum tile edge angles to keep a straight edge along the firebox-side vertical edge of the tile. (the same angles that i used in the bath 1 tub surround)

so here is a little trip down memory lane (because i just love before and after pix!) 

scott is installing the crown moulding everywhere...here is a photo of the crown (oh, and the fireplace just happens to be in this photo)

the crown also needs to be caulked and painted.

oh, and the bath 1 tile surround is completely tiled and ready to be grouted...

Fireplace

So the plan is to re-drywall the fireplace wall because the existing plaster is in bad shape (major cracks) and the wall paper will not come off easily.

so i first removed the mantle surround...which came off in one piece

and found that there was more brick behind that surround....

i also ran electrical and cable wires so that we can install a flat screen tv above the fireplace.

so the dilemma now is whether or not we re-use the existing surround  (which is a little too tall for a tv above it)  or do we build a new one?

i think we are going to build a new one...

the hearth stone has been covered in dust since day one...so i poured some water over it to remind us what it actually looks like...

black slate, green slate, black slate, green slate...