Help Selecting A Quality Stove

[cableman]

Nice work! Get a nice dolly and move it in place vertically into the room then gently lower it on top! I moved mine with 3 guys and one get out of the way lol. Is it 2"? Looks a little bigger then mine.

 

[RossB]

A little brick work this weekend...

First some precutting and dry fitting.



And now on to the real thing

 

[RossB]

The bricks look great. What did you use to color the mortar?

The building supply store sells all sorts of different colors of mortar tint. It's like $8 /bag of tint and that's just about right for 1 bag of mortar. I'm using a color called "Raven"

 

[dafattkidd]

Ross, It's looking great. I have to admit watching this thread is helping to encourage me to knock out all kinds of projects at my house. Your hearth and stove install happen to fall in the same time when I'm wrapping up some projects. It's nice to see other guys are busy on their weekends as well. Keep up the good work!

 

[bag of hammers]

Can't wait to see the bluestone in place. Looking great....

 

[Machria]

Looks like a piece of soapstone

 

[jack_90125]

really nice work you are doing there. you will love the stove.we put one in this year and we got hit with single digits and highs in the low 20's and it heats our 2500 house with no problem.makes burning with wood a joy.

 

[RossB]

Worked for about 6 hours today...mortar is a lot harder than I imagined...getting just the right consistency and making sure there are no voids between bricks takes forever. Fortunately my mother came over to hand me bricks today. I really thought I'd finish today, but not even close

 

[RossB]

Looks like a piece of soapstone

I think Bluestone is just a variety of sandstone from Pennsylvania

 

[cableman]

Nice work man! Nothing like doing this stuff your self! The wives love it right lol I have redone things i paid for thats why i choose to do most my self now!

 

[bag of hammers]

have redone things i paid for thats why i choose to do most my self now!

Amen to that....

 

[dafattkidd]

Worked for about 6 hours today...mortar is a lot harder than I imagined...getting just the right consistency and making sure there are no voids between bricks takes forever. Fortunately my mother came over to hand me bricks today. I really thought I'd finish today, but not even close

View attachment 118600

I hear ya, man. Projects at my house always take way longer than expected. Usually, though it's because I underestimate the scope of the job. "Sure I'll just replace the sub-floor and carpet in this room." Then I end up gutting the whole room, re-framing the floor system, removing a window, removing the closet, replacing the door, super insulating all heating pipes running in the crawl space, installing laminate instead of carpet... and so it goes on and on. But, this thread is like a beam of hope for me. You're doing a great work. Keep to it!

 

[RossB]

Took a vacation day today to finish the brick work. Tomorrow I'll order the bluestone mantel pieces to match the base and I'll start putting the pine tongue and groove back up on the wall.. I'm still looking for 2 strong friiends to help me carry that heavy piece of crap into the house and put it in place. Then I'll sucker them into moving stove while they're here. ( ;



The top 2 courses were tougher than I expected because I was bringing them out 3/4" per course for the mantel. Mortar is really tricky stuff.

 

[RossB]

I can't wait to get the stove connected...it's so close.

 

[cableman]

Looks great! U gonna thin set the bluestone down, i ended up but prolly didnt need to but it does help if not 100% flat. Where do ya get the outside air vent? Thats not just a dryer vent?

 

[begreen]

I would set the stone on a bed of mortar or thinset. It will help support the stone evenly and avoid stress cracking.

 

[bag of hammers]

I would set the stone on a bed of mortar or thinset. It will help support the stone evenly and avoid stress cracking.

+1

 

[RossB]

Yup! I intend to lay plenty of mortar for the slab. I may put a few spacers in place at key spots to ensure it's level and to maintain the 3/8" bed across the front where it meets the the 3rd course of brick. I want to make sure the slab is supported evenly and there's no rocking.

 

[RossB]

Installed the tongue and groove pine today and attempted to acid wash the bricks. The black mortar ran all over the brick faces and made a bigger mess than I had when I started. Now the mortar is less black and there's less contrast between the bricks and the mortar. I'm not loving the change though I suspect I may just be overanalysing the situation. The bricks on the left were washed down - the one's on the right haven't been washed yet. Is it noticeable?

 

[begreen]

Seems to be, FWIW I like the washed brick look better.

 

[RossB]

Thanks! That's comforting. I was afraid I just ruined the whole thing.

 

[begreen]

It's just a change. You're doing fine. The softer black grout is going to be a nicer match to the bluestone top. And once you get the stove on it you won't be looking at the wall anymore.

 

[bag of hammers]

Less noticeable to my tired eyes but I'd be good with it either way - once the stone and stove are down, my guess is you'll be very happy with the finished product.

 

[RossB]

Over breakfast at the diner this morning...

9 degrees outside...

"Hey, how'd you guys like to help me move something this morning? Should only take a couple minutes. "

 

[cableman]

Sure is heavy huh!