Fireplace Inserts - part 2

The master fireplace didn't go in as easily.

OK, maybe a better way to say it is that it wasn't as easy to run the gas lines.

What you can see in the top picture looks great (or will once the face plate is installed).

What had to happen behind the scenes in the kitchen is another story...

They had to run the gas line from the basement, inside the kitchen wall against the bask of the chimney, and drill a hole through the back of the chimney into the firebox.

The big hole above the microwave and near the ceiling?  The one above the range and below the microwave?  That's how they got the gas line "inside the wall at the back of the chimney".

It's not that I mind the holes; it's more that there was an inch of dust and junk all over everything once they were done.  And SWMBO had to clean it up.  I suspect that will end up on the comment card when this is done...

The holes aren't a big deal considering that I despise the current kitchen and can't wait to gut it and start over.  The style of the cabinets doesn't fit the house. Nor do the counters and floor.  The work triangle is the nuttiest I've ever seen (note the proximity of the range and sink).  And that cabinet on the right can't be opened because the light fixture is in the way.  And that's a battle for a future day.

Fireplace Inserts - Part 1

The two inserts on the main floor went in fairly easily.  A long time ago we'd removed the plaster from the basement ceiling.  That gave easy access to run the gas lines.

The installers hooked up the living room fireplace so that we could use it prior to the inspection next week.  The photos show before and after the installation of the insert.  There's a roaring fire in the after picture; it raises the temperature on the first floor at least 3 degrees!

Once the inspection passes, the installers can come back and put on the face plates.

If everything works out, they'll all be done just in time for She Who Must Be Obeyeds next big party.

Hopefully this time I won't be installing a chandelier at midnight the night before...

Using The Right Tools?

When you're getting gas fireplace inserts installed, do you expect that this is the special tool that is needed?

The guys had a 20 foot ladder.  It's not long enough to get to the roof to drop the new flues into place.  So they needed this...

When we moved in, we had the chimneys cleaned and inspected.  Not surprisingly, the flues were in bad shape.  So bad that we couldn't use the fireplaces without risking burning the house down.  Enough of the mortar is missing that we'd get "heat transfer" and start the walls on fire.

Of course, the cost to re-line one chimney is about the same as converting 3 fireplaces to gas inserts.  Pretty simple decision there...

We've known we wanted to do this for a long time, so we'd been looking at various options.  It turns out that the fireplaces were originally coal-burners.  For those, the fireboxes are smaller than in a wood-burning fireplace.  The net result is that most inserts are too big to fit, so our choices were somewhat limited.

We finally get enough other things done to prioritize the fireplaces.  It didn't hurt that the timing worked out with a sale at the vendor we'd picked a while back.

The installers showed up today and things went pretty smoothly (other than not having a suitable ladder ;-).

The installation is mostly done.  The new gas lines just need to be inspected before the face-plates can be installed.  All that should be done about this time next week.

Aaaargh!

She Who Must Be Obeyed wanted a mirror above the dining room fireplace.

After the walls have been painted.

Not so bad if you frame the mirror like a picture and hang it like one.

On the other hand...

If you want to attach it directly to the wall without any sort of mechanical fastener...

Then you need some way to hold it in place while the adhesive cures.

I tried many approaches to avoid putting holes in the freshly painted mill work.

But no joy.

So I ended up with this.

Now I get to patch the holes and repaint.

And you can't just touch up the spots because you can never get the sheen to match quite right.  You have to paint the whole surface to a natural edge.