New Fireplace Finally Done

[Raymond Fries]

This is what it looked like before I tore it out. I had already removed the tile from the front of the hearth.

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Here are some pictures of the new one. My wife and I worked on the design together and I completed the work this morning. Just in time for the holiday season.

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Thanks for looking.

Take Care and Enjoy Life...

[glenn bradley]

Looks great. Happy Holidays to you.

[Bruce Page]

A night & day transformation. Well done!

[phil harold]

Awesome mantel and surround

The hearth tile seems to attract my attention more the the mantel and surround
sort of a distraction to me
Maybe I am just weird...

[Yonak Hawkins]

Wow !! What a difference ! Incredible carving.

[Raymond Fries]

Thought I should add a comment here - The corbels and carvings at the bottom were purchased. I wish I had those kind of carving skills.
Phil - That was by design to pull your eyes away from all of the mistakes on the wood. LOL

[Art Mann]

That is quite a dramatic improvement over the original!

[Von Bickley]

Looks GREAT.......

[Ben Martin]

Looks great Raymond! What kind of wood is that? Looks like either Cherry or Mahogany to me.

Ben

[Yonak Hawkins]

It's a marvelous look. The corbels match the frieze so well.

[Raymond Fries]

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

Ben - The all of the flat wood is poplar. The carved wood is maple.

[joe valsi]

Very nice work. Really like that !!

[Ben Martin]

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

Ben - The all of the flat wood is poplar. The carved wood is maple.


Wow, what was your finishing schedule? Fooled me!

Ben

[Raymond Fries]

Ben

I started with Charles Neil's blotch control. One quart was plenty for this project. It is an awesome sealer and I recommend it to anyone. I sealed the maple as well just to ensure the stain was applied evenly between the two different types of wood. The stain was an oil based custom color that I had mixed to match the woodwork in our home. I finished the project off with Minwax wipe on poly with a satin sheen.

It was a little learning curve using the sealer as this was my first experience with it. I learned that the stain needed to be applied in two or three really thin coats and wait until it was hard before going on to the next coat. If I applied to much, it looked painted and the grain did not come through. If the stain was not hard enough, the new coat would smear what I had already applied. I actually sanded the two columns down and started over because I did not like the look. I am so glad I took the extra time and I am really pleased with the way it came out. The grain looks awesome and the maple matches the poplar very well.

Take Care and Enjoy Life...

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice change...Big improvement....

[Mark Hulette]

Looks great! We have been talking about adding one to our house (the soffett is already built-in) but the cost for the install of the is cost prohibitive. If we ever get to where we can do this, we'll definitely use your work as inspiration.