Here are the before, during and after pictures of my fireplace remodel. Pictured is my old englander that my father heated this house with for 33 years. It was by far not the safest setup. I have used this stove for 3 years now since purchasing this house from my dad. I wanted a more attractive, safer, and more efficient setup. I lowered the hearth and firebox floor about 9 inches so I could install the new stove comfortably in the firebox. I rock faced the brick around the fireplace and put a new layer of firebrick over the old cracked and black firebrick. The mantel is rock also. I feel better knowing the mantel is not wood anymore. New englander 30 installed inside the fireplace. I installed an electrical outlet in the fireplace floor to run the stove blower. The outlet is wired to a wall dimmer switch to control the speed of the fan. Now its time to install hardwood floors on the entire bottom floor of the house.