Fireplace Demo

I was getting so excited about pillows and rugs (I even bought a rug runner up) and fabrics, but I realized that I should maybe get onto some bigger projects: like the fireplace.

I really didn't know what I'd find under those cedar boards, so I took the project slowly so that I wasn't flinging cedar all over the place and all over myself! I kind of felt bad removing all that hard work that somebody else did, but I was getting pretty excited to see our own version of the fireplace!

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find some clean drywall underneath, but because of all the glue on it and damage I did to it while pulling the cedar off, I think we'll just replace it.

I know you love my creepy thumbs up!

So we ended up stripping the whole fireplace wall to the studs. (It was around this point that Brandon started helping me, because I was threatening to just leave it half done and a mess. I was tired!) :)

Scroll to the bottom of this post to see why I didn't get a picture of the demo-ed fireplace without the ladder! :)

We headed out to Menards to pick up some cement backer board to put up around the fireplace for under the tile, and to Home Depot to check out some tile choices.  Here are a couple I found there:

Arctic Ice 1x2 glass tile and  Majestic Ocean 1x1 glass tile

I love the subway tile look, but we'd definitely need tile nippers and/or a wet saw if we used those. The square tiles are nice because we'd get away with no tile cuts! I think I'd love to find all-gray 1" square tiles in our price range. I'll be off to a couple more stores in the next few days on the tile quest.

 

For now, I'm excited! This seemed like a huge project, but now that it's underway, it's seeming manageable. We'll see if I'm still thinking that as we go. I've never tiled before, so this will be an experience!

 

We're also not sure if we'll do a full mantel and wood surround - because I think that would take up nearly the whole wall, and I have to figure out how I want to integrate this angled fireplace with the bookshelves next to it. I have a feeling the shelves are going to get cut down a little bit...but one step at a time! As I go, I realize so many things are working out differently than I expected, so I'm not making any more big plans until we get to each new situation.

 

More updates coming as I go!

I didn't get a picture of the final demo without the ladder, because this is what I came home to after work last night:

Brandon put up the cement backer board while I was at work! So amazing! I love when projects just magically get done! :) I have to add screws to finish it off, and we still have to put the new drywall on top, but man, am I happy that the backer board is up and I didn't have to do a thing!