Jack started on the fireplace remodel when he mounted our TV onto the wall above. We didn't get to work on the next phase of the remodel until this month which was perfect for Santa Cause to shimmy down it on Christmas Eve!
We decided that it would be much easier to cover the old brick than it would be to remove them completely, however, due to the uneven texture he had to even them out with a small jack hammer that attached to our air compressor. We spray painted the inside of the fireplace with a high heat white spray paint; since the bricks were so porous we had to use five cans of spray paint to get an even finish.
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We then added a thin layer of sheet board using the air compressor nail gun.
He used cement glue to hold the cement backer board to the bricks and screwed in cement screws.
We found the trim we wanted in the baseboard and crown molding section of the hardware store. He measured and cut each to create the desired design and mantel, using wood glue and stapling them in place.
Once the wood filler was dried we painted the remaining wood, since we used pre-painted trim we only needed to paint the sheet board.
We left the original marble on the bottom step of the fireplace so we found a great mosaic tile that was made up of stone, glass, and marble that complemented the marble and the design we wanted. Cutting the title turned out much more difficult than we were expecting. We tried several types of saw blades, but they only left the different types of tile in crumbles. After much research and patience we found that a grinder with a diamond blade worked the best. We used a peanut butter consistency of mortar to tile with using 1/8 tile spacers. As I tiled, Jack cut the needed lengths so we were done in no time. Once the mortar was completed dried, we used a sanded grout to fill in all of the space between the tiles.
Now we are ready to hang our stockings with care and were already for Santa!