Well, the house has been returned to its pre-Christmas state, so it's time to tear it up...again!
Mrs JEV is tired of the looks of the fireplace after 22 years, and feels a new look is in order. She picked out a dark tile for the hearth extension with a pewter color grout, and a light colored stacked stone for the vertical field. Today was demo day, and after much cursing, it's finished The wall tile came off pretty easy, but there was still damage to the drywall that extended above the metal enclosure. The hearth extension tile was not coming off easily, and basically had to be destroyed with a 3# hammer to break free from the thinset. I ended up peeling the top layer off the plywood base, so I need to add 1/4" cement board to level out the floor and bring it up to where the new tile will be flush with the existing fascia (old material was 1/2" marble). Then it's time to get out the paint brush before tile work. The brass trim will be stripped & painted flat black.
Mrs JEV is tired of the looks of the fireplace after 22 years, and feels a new look is in order. She picked out a dark tile for the hearth extension with a pewter color grout, and a light colored stacked stone for the vertical field. Today was demo day, and after much cursing, it's finished The wall tile came off pretty easy, but there was still damage to the drywall that extended above the metal enclosure. The hearth extension tile was not coming off easily, and basically had to be destroyed with a 3# hammer to break free from the thinset. I ended up peeling the top layer off the plywood base, so I need to add 1/4" cement board to level out the floor and bring it up to where the new tile will be flush with the existing fascia (old material was 1/2" marble). Then it's time to get out the paint brush before tile work. The brass trim will be stripped & painted flat black.