The Fireplace Project - Stone Installation

Today was the day to install the stone around the fireplace. Glory day!

I gotta say it took a few hours to complete but this AirStone was the easiest thing to install. I think I got VERY VERY lucky because the stones matched the EXACT size of the fireplace. Maybe I have a standard size fireplace. Or maybe the home improvement gods decided to shine down on me. Either way, I only had to cut two "stones" -- the rest I pulled directly from the box.

First I had to attach that cement board so the depth in the middle area would match with the tile depth. I'll come clean and say I must have measured wrong because it was still 1/4" too low, but I don't think it makes a big difference.

Then, I laid out all the pieces so I could pull the color and sizes I wanted. I tried to vary them as best I could so nothing looked matchy. It was very much like a puzzle. Once I choose my piece, I "buttered" the back with some adhesive and literally glued it to the wall.
Stone Installation In Progress
Here's where it got tricky ... I decided I wanted to start top down. Because I wanted the cut, ugly pieces to be near the floor. Makes sense. But the glue made the pieces slid down the wall, thus the blue tape just barely holding everything into place. I found that the more I built, the more stable the top pieces became, so I tried to work quickly.

The Finished Stone In Place
Overall, I really enjoyed the process and look at that result! I had to buy two boxes of the AirStone (in Spring Creek) so I invested $120 there and $15 in the glue. If you look at it closely, you can tell it's not real stone or that it wasn't expertly installed. There's a few larger gaps in some places. But from any kind of distance, well, it looks DAMN good.




Related Posts:
Fireplace before photos
All the Fireplace Project posts

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