This is what we built with your help, for around $2500.
1. Englander 17-VL, $700 with shipping from Home Depot.
2. 777 lb of river rock and 8 bags of mortar, $200. Lou laid the stone with me as hod carrier. I cleaned the stone and applied two coats of mineral oil.
3. A couple of red cedar boards, $15, that Lou used to build the trim.
4. Duravent pipe and chimney, $1000 from efireplacestore.com.
5. Local builders installed chimney and provided flashing for $650.
We made three minor mistakes that we know of.
1. We didn't check the efireplacestore representative's recommendations carefully, and ended up paying shipping and restocking fees to return stovepipe that we didn't need.
2. We paid $96 for a Duravent chimney support system that included only two legs. We added a third for stability. We could have done the whole thing ourselves for less than $25.
3. Our installers used a flexible flashing that cost less than $50, and looks much more suitable for waterproofing our corrugated metal roof than the $220 Duravent metal flashing that we had ordered.
Fuel:
1. Stihl MS-290 with 20" blade, on sale for $400, to replace the ancient Craftsman.
2. 5 ton splitter, $300.
2. Free standing dead wood on the property. Cured standing up in northeast Texas.
We've done our break in fires, and it is burning clean and drafting hard, even with the windows wide open. I don't have to tell you how much we love this hearth, and how much it makes this place our home. To you members who helped us so much to get started on this project (particularly this thread, but also others):
We can't thank you enough.
Aggie & Lou
