As I sit here by my old stove on a day of icy drizzle, waiting for my Progress Hybrid to be built, and neurotically checking the forum for updates from the lucky ones already burning their's, I am disappointed on both counts. I've developed a mental image, based on the pattern of posts here, of Progress Hybrid owners excitedly sharing the story of the arrival of their stove, its installation, and initial fires, but then falling into a trance beside their new stoves, induced by its steady heat and beauty.
I'm also looking out over grass-covered fields, wishing this freezing rain was snow so I could begin cutting trees and skidding them to my woodyard. So my mind turns to my hearth area, which is functionally ready for the PH (should almost be a plug-n-play swap between the old and new stoves), but is asthetically challenged. This is an install into an old, wide kitchen fireplace (1790's), so I don't have concerns about clearance to trim on the sides. When we bought the house there was a mantel and barn-board paneling above the fireplace. We removed it all when we installed the box stove, in part because it did not fit in as being original to the rest of the house, which is largely as it was when built. The exposed brickwork is not very pretty (evidently not intended to be exposed), and to make it worse, the original granite lintel above the fireplace was replaced in the 70's with angle iron and finished with bricks that do not match, bonded with cement instead of lime mortar, and the joint is dressed with a ridge that is out of character.
Long story shortened, I'd like to cover the brickwork above the fireplace with a drywall-like finish, but need it to be safe for being almost directly above the stove. To complicate the matter, my approach to the old house is to do no harm to its original character, so applying a finish directly to the bricks is not an option and I do not wish to bolt anything into the brickwork. Any thoughts for a material to use?
I'm also looking out over grass-covered fields, wishing this freezing rain was snow so I could begin cutting trees and skidding them to my woodyard. So my mind turns to my hearth area, which is functionally ready for the PH (should almost be a plug-n-play swap between the old and new stoves), but is asthetically challenged. This is an install into an old, wide kitchen fireplace (1790's), so I don't have concerns about clearance to trim on the sides. When we bought the house there was a mantel and barn-board paneling above the fireplace. We removed it all when we installed the box stove, in part because it did not fit in as being original to the rest of the house, which is largely as it was when built. The exposed brickwork is not very pretty (evidently not intended to be exposed), and to make it worse, the original granite lintel above the fireplace was replaced in the 70's with angle iron and finished with bricks that do not match, bonded with cement instead of lime mortar, and the joint is dressed with a ridge that is out of character.
Long story shortened, I'd like to cover the brickwork above the fireplace with a drywall-like finish, but need it to be safe for being almost directly above the stove. To complicate the matter, my approach to the old house is to do no harm to its original character, so applying a finish directly to the bricks is not an option and I do not wish to bolt anything into the brickwork. Any thoughts for a material to use?