We're Finally Finished!

About 15 months ago Tom and I decided it was time to tear down our ugly fake-brick fireplace wall, seal up the fireplace better so we couldn't smell our downstairs neighbor's cigarette smoke, and paint and tile around the fireplace. 

We started the project on Saturday on a whim, annoyed by all the smoke we were smelling that particular morning. After a few awesome hours of swinging a sledge hammer and axe in the living room, there was dust EVERYWHERE and piles of stucco-stuff and wire that needed to be carried out to the dumpster. After many trips in and out, the mess was gone, and we used the shop-vac to collect a lot of the dust. Tom pulled out the framing around the fireplace, and we were shocked to find a case that went from the top unit all the way down to the ground, just open with a couple stove pipes traveling through. The air in there was nasty, so we quickly blocked the kitties off (they saw a perfect hunting ground), Tom sealed the back of the fireplace up and stuck the wall back in around it, and sealed it up extra well. Over the next couple days we got new drywall up, then taped and mudded and sanded it... more dust again! I painted the wall a dark royal blue color, and Tom put up the cement backer board. (Sorry the pre-project pictures are a little odd, but those are the only pictures I can find that even have the old brick in them from the previous 2 years of us living here!)

I'd been thinking for a while that I would like to tile around the opening, but kept getting discouraged by the price and skill it looked like it would take. Finally this past September I collected all the tile I wanted to use from various stores and sales, and laid out my design on some latch hook rug canvas cut exactly to the size of the backer board. This was a huge help in centering and spacing, since i could work on it gradually on the floor. I used tacky glue to stick each piece to the canvas, marked the pieces I needed cut, and eventually cut the canvas into 5 chunks. (I could just see it sliding off the wall once we stuck it to the wet mortar in once huge piece!) It held well and set quickly. 

Wednesday night, 4 months after sticking the tile to the wall, we finally mixed the grout and smothered it in place. Sponging off the tiles was a long job, and it ended up grinding our hands raw from the grit in the grout, but it's finished!