The chimney was up and paid for, then it came time to do the rock work and the estimate (which I thought was in the original price) was astronomical and I said thanks, but no thanks. The mason left and Jake got a local guy to only do rock for the mantle inside, so there will be no rock on the outside. This rock I dug from a border up at the main house and will be used inside. Placing rock for the hearth, then there will be rock behind and on the sides of the mantle to protect it from flames. Above I will have sheetrock. I actually like the cleaner more minimal look leaving a big space to place a painting or television for when there are guests. It's a dirty mess. Right now I'm sanding the mud they used for the sheetrock seams, will clean everything then paint. It will be nice to get everything back in place, decorate for spring and have my neighbors over for a drink and to see what we've been doing to the place. They have been trying to sneak a peek, but I want it in tip-top shape. It is a small, shallow fireplace so there won't be any raging fires. I bought two duraflame logs to do a test run, and that may be just the thing for guests to use so I don't have to worry about a fire taking the house down lol. I do need a screen, then we should be good to go! It's nice to have rock that was from the original house, but I probably could have sheetrocked around the whole thing to really make the mantle stand out. The guys just don't get my primitive painted mantle. Those of us into the country look will understand. Outside I will be painting the chimney, and I think I may like that more than rock anyway. I like it looking clean and simple. The mason said I needed to buy masonry paint which I could only find at Lowe's. The chimney is much bigger than I pictured it would be. The good thing is Valspar makes the masonry paint and you can have it in any one of their colors, so I brought home chips to match the house since that was Ben Moore. I was afraid masonry paint would only have a few colors to choose from. This made me happy. Crisp Cotton is the winner! First to finish up the inside, then to start on the outside. Once painted it will make such a difference!
