Gates Reno
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July 21, 2007
A mantle, to start with
Hi there, long time no see. Sorry about that. There are several reasons why I was absent for so long:
1) For a while, there just wasn't any work going on (or nothing worth writing about anyway), and I got out of the habit of posting
2) When work started up again in full force, I was incredibly busy with other things
3) By the time I wasn't ridiculously busy anymore, there was an overwhelming amount of blogging to catch up on, and being an anal retentive perfectionist, I felt like if I couldn't recap everything, there was no point in starting
4) I was a bit burned out
Mostly, it was #4. Going through a renovation is difficult. Reliving every aspect of it for others can be draining.
So, I've decided to go against my nature and jump back in with something, one small thing, that was just completed. I'll back track and catch up when I can.
Out of the five fireplaces left in our house when we bought it (all identical), only one had been painted.
It was located in the front of the garden floor, and as luck would have it, our plans called for moving that fireplace to the back of the floor, in what would be the dining room. This would make it much easier to strip, since it had to be removed from the wall anyway. Its future location was in the old kitchen, where the old stove was.
It was stripped and cleaned beautifully. Our guys built out the wall so that it would look like an actual fireplace, rather than just being ornamental, and stuck it on the wall. The guy who installed it spent an entire day getting it just right.
I think it turned out great. Of course, it's now so clean that it makes the other four fireplaces look dingy and yellow!
Comments
Thanks, Amy! It's good to read of more progress. We love reading anything you get posted. You and Omer have way more courage than I do. I would have started drinking heavily months ago. Instead, I'll just sit and bite my nails about your reno in vicarious worry.
Posted by: Angela at July 22, 2007 4:46 PM
Looks sharp!! And moving it to another room where you can appreciate it is a great idea.
I feel your burnout pain but please post more.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at July 23, 2007 9:49 AM
Thanks for your support! I will post more. I took such a big break that now I'm eager to do it again.
If we had left the fireplace in the living room it would always have had a couch in front of it, or something. In the dining room it will always be a focal point.
Posted by: Amy at July 23, 2007 9:51 AM
It looks great! It's nice to see others in our boat. As I write my husband is downstairs working, where he is most nights. Hopefully our front door won't be full of notes any morning soon. Good luck and keep it up!
Posted by: anon at July 23, 2007 8:56 PM
I'm in Jersey City. I have 5 marble mantels. Some have been clean as white as snow, this was done before I bought the building. I Would like to whitten the others. What product / method was used. there is no paint on them, they're just dingy yellow with stains. Noirmode1@msn.com
Posted by: guest at August 20, 2007 12:06 PM
I'm not sure if they used a special product or not - I just saw one poor guy out in the sun using a lot of elbow grease. I'll ask what it was that he was using, and I'll probably try it out on my own dingy mantles and let you know how it goes!
Amy
Posted by: guest at August 21, 2007 12:42 PM
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