In the Heat of the Night

One of the features that sold me on The Big Yellow House is its two fireplaces.  While the attic shows evidence there are three fireplaces—one in the foyer, one in the living room and one in what is now the family room—the one in the foyer is no longer visible. While I would love to take a sledge hammer to the drywall (a clue that this is not an original wall) that engulfs the old fireplace and make it visible again, this is a project for some later time. 


Family Room Fireplace

Since winter is just around the corner, the time had come to start work on making sure we could use the two fireplaces we have. With little insulation and no storm windows, it can get a little drafty in The Big Yellow House.  Knowing we were willing to trade-off the ambiance and hassle of maintaining a wood burning fireplace for the speed and simplicity of a gas version, we did some online research about our options.  We then visited Roy at Tarheel Fireplace & Grill Shop in nearby Hertford and learned more. 



Living Room Fireplace

We settled the vented version and Roy helped us select two models that coordinated with our décor.  In the family room we selected a simple black box with a stationary glass front that was designed to look like it was wood burning.  In the living room we selected a much more formal option, a silver colored arch shaped surround that incorporated a coal bucket and was enclosed in glass. We must have seemed like we knew what we were doing because when Roy came to take measurements, he mentioned that based on the size of the living room’s firebox it most certainly had been designed for a coal bucket!





Installation was easy.  With the exception of having John the electrician install a box in the floor of each firebox, Roy did it all.  He cleaned each chimney, inserted one metal tube to bring in fresh air and a second one so the dangerous gases produced during the burn could travel outside, connected the units to the gas lines underneath the house, and he customized the existing mantle surrounds so the new inserts would fit snugly into place. 

 

Before

 

After

 













 

The only work Larry and I had to do was decorative.  In the family room, he freshened up the hearth by adding a fresh coat of black paint to the existing concrete slab.  In the living room it was more complex.  Not liking the brown ceramic tile that extended beyond the black slate hearth, Larry removed and replaced it with a more formal looking metallic tile and pencil molding we found in Lowes.   Then I went to work stripping the layers of brown, white, and black paint that had been applied to the black slate hearth.  While the hearth is cracked and discolored with age, it is much more beautiful in its natural state than it had been when it was painted to mimic marble.

Before

Replacing Tile



Almost Done

After

                                                                                  While it's only September, it was a bit chilly this morning so Larry lit the family room fireplace.  While we only had it on for a short time, we were delighted not only by how good it looked but by how well it warmed up the room.  As soon as it gets colder, we’ll be ready to enjoy our new fireplaces in the heat of the night.