Lots of projects


So with the prospect of selling our house now that we bought the other lot, we have made a super long list of small to large projects we want to finish before we list so we can feel good commanding top dollar and getting all we can out of this house. One of the things I always envisioned having was a stone surround on the fireplace.  I love watching HGTV and all the remodel shows, and on one of them I saw a super awesome looking split faced travertine tile used on a fireplace surround. Yep, THAT was going to be my fireplace.

Before

We also needed a mantle. Those HGTV shows are always making stuff out of scrap parts, so we went out to the wood pile and found this diamond in the rough. Sure it was beat up, dusty, covered in bird poop, and had been sitting out there for 4 years, but it would work!

I really enjoy woodworking projects so this one was mine. We started by cutting it to the right length. Then I beat it up a little more with a hammer and screw driver, picked a few of the knots out of the holes to give it an uneven texture, used the air compressor to blow all the dust out of the cracks, and started sanding.

 Here it is ready stain

 One coat of stain, ended up doing two coats because I tried to do a light sand before I coated it with Lacquer, but pine is so soft that way too much came off with the fine sanding and it needed another coat. In the end it was darker than I anticipated it would be, but I'm still fine with it.
 Justin mounted the mantel and then started on the tile. Look at that burly man work.

He tiled the bench seat using the same tile we have on our floor. So happy not to have drywall here anymore. Dale is going to have a tough time gnawing off the corners now!

 Mantel and the split faced travertine, I love the uneven texture on the wall.

 Done and beautiful. Makes the whole room nicer. Justin did a fabulous job and I know he's glad to be done with it!

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