I found this website about 6 months ago when I was looking to replace a cheap Majestic fireplace with a high efficiency unit. After a lot of research and some help from this site, I made a decision. Well, now that the job is done, I thought I would share some pictures of the final product.
I ended up going with a Kozy Heat Z42CD mainly because it was the only fireplace I could find that did not require my mantle to me moved. It was also the closest to the old Majestic in size so required the least amount of stonework to be removed. Even though my house is only a year old (it was a spec home - thus the cheap fireplace), I was unable to locate the split face stone they used in the original construction. I had to have them save the stone they removed, clean it, and reuse it.
I only have two small issues that you may notice in the pictures: 1. The new mortar dried quite a bit lighter than the existing. I of course got a great idea from this site on how to make it darker, but I haven't gotten to it yet. 2. A couple of the stones got chipped when they removed them, so I need to touch them up a bit.
Other than that, I am very happy with the fireplace. Now, it just needs to get cold so I can try it out!
I ended up going with a Kozy Heat Z42CD mainly because it was the only fireplace I could find that did not require my mantle to me moved. It was also the closest to the old Majestic in size so required the least amount of stonework to be removed. Even though my house is only a year old (it was a spec home - thus the cheap fireplace), I was unable to locate the split face stone they used in the original construction. I had to have them save the stone they removed, clean it, and reuse it.
I only have two small issues that you may notice in the pictures: 1. The new mortar dried quite a bit lighter than the existing. I of course got a great idea from this site on how to make it darker, but I haven't gotten to it yet. 2. A couple of the stones got chipped when they removed them, so I need to touch them up a bit.
Other than that, I am very happy with the fireplace. Now, it just needs to get cold so I can try it out!