The Third Decade: The Fireplace

There's nothing like a home improvement project to test one's patience and creativity. The boyfriend and I had plans to do some simple things around the house, you know, minor things like replace old door hinges and painting trim. We've been joking for a while that we should look inside the boarded up fireplace and see what's inside, but nothing ever came about of that talk...until this weekend. Why, oh why, did I text him and ask whether he'd be interested in poking a hole in the wall and seeing what was inside? He said yes (no surprise there), so Saturday afternoon we started drilling. We started off small, just drilling 9 small holes in various places to see where there was an opening and where there might be brick. Then, after deciding where we thought the opening was, I grabbed a hammer and started swiging.

About 5 minutes and a dozen whacks later, most of the plaster and a lot of the underlying lathe was out. Unfortunately, we found out too late that there wasn't a fireplace back there! There is a chimney, and it looks like it was patched at some point, but we didn't see how a fireplace could've been there. In fact, we found the center of the chimney framed off in a 2-foot by 2-foot section about 2 feet off the floor as though something had been attached to the chimney. We're guessing that there may have been a pot-bellied stove attached to the chimney way back in the day, which basically means that my mantle is just a decorative piece attached to the wall.

With that surprise at hand, we had to make 2 runs to Home Depot. Since there was no fireplace behind the wall - and no turning back from what we had already committed to - we decided to build our own "fireplace." During the first run to the store we bought drywall, a reciprocating saw, and joint tape (I already had joint compound from a previous project). The reciprocating saw was great at cutting away pieces of lathe and wood, provided that it wasn't within 3 inches of the sides of the mantle. So, we used the second run to buy a handheld saw and a few other items to cut closer to the edges and smooth out the details. I was almost talked out of buying another saw, but luckily my stubborness won that debate.

By the end of today, we managed to create an alcove where there was nothing useful. The project seemed a little shaky for a couple of hours, especially because it was so impromptu, but it looks like things will turn out well. Who knew I was dating such a handy guy? The demolition is done and the alcove is completely boxed out. I've still got to finish taping the seams and applying joint compound. After that, we've got to decide how to decorate the space. When we thought there was an actual fireplace back there, we thought about using tin for the back wall. What we have now, however, would probably look better tiled. I have no idea where to begin looking for or chosing tile, but the boyfriend is gung-ho to do it soon. I think I'd rather spend the long weekend doing something else. If anyone has any suggestions for finding and choosing tile for a faux fireplace, please let me know.