testing out my tile underlay cutting, it fit pretty good (phew)

this was the inside before:

and after:

I'll take a pic later today of one of the pillars

Trance, so this is what you've been up to lately? I forget that you are beginning (?) your cold season now, so of course hot projects will be on your mind.

Can you describe what you intend to do so I won't be hanging in such suspense here?

I'm interested in your plans because we have a tiny fireplace here in Alabama, which has some ancient (not antique) gas logs in it, and I want to take them out and let it be a wood burning fireplace again. We would seldom use it, of course, and we have the flat panel TV sitting on the mantle which I do NOT want to overheat.

You did a great job cutting the underlayment. Looking forward to the next step.
I love the color of your room. I used to have my bedroom a similiar color.

ML I've been working on this for ages and lately I'm really pushing to get it finished :) Basically what I'm doing from here is adding a pillar on each side and a top board, nothing very fancy, it's quite a chunky looking surround Im making. We don't have much need for a fire so we just have a little electric heater in there but if we ever change our minds on that we could use it for an open fire.

Thanks idie, I was nervous about messing up the underlay but it turned out to probably be the easiest part so far

Just before I head back out I'll post some more pics

Here's a few pics of the pillar. It's not finished yet and I still have to add some corner blocks and a bit more moulding just underneath that but you get the idea :)

Wow, looks wonderful, Trance!! woohooo It will make such a difference.

Oh yes, that will look so nice. And you are doing it yourself! You have some skills too!

Trance, your FP has weight and presence. I think it will be the focal point of your room now. MUCh more impressive!

Cannot wait for the next installment. You're on a roll.
:)

Oh Trance this is going to be so nice. Love the pillar addition.

Chris

It's looking great trancegemini.

thanks ladies :) It will be good to get this done. ML I'm really hoping to turn this into a nice focal point. It really catches your eye when you walk in to the room but not in a good way so i really want a fireplace that I want to look at!

Your FP is looking great--I'm impressed that you're doing the work yourself! So many talented DIYers on this forum. We did something similar on our FP to cover obsolete heat-o-lator-type vents, but the panels are flat. I like the raised trim on yours. Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Trance, you are well on your way to making it be a focal point lovely to look at. I bet when you finish it, every time you walk through the room, you will get this secret triumphant smile on your face. And well you should too!

Trance, what is going on at your house? Are you done with the fireplace? Have any pictures?

Hi ML, I've had so many other projects to do that I haven't been able to focus on the fireplace like I'd hoped.

I have one pillar finished now so I'll take a pic and upload it soon :)

here it is:

I've added the corner blocks and some more moulding and it's got a poly finish on it now

Now that is really neat, Trance! I'm trying to determine what kind of temps you have in WA, are you using the heat these days or is it warming up?

We are super humid and high temps, or in mid and upper 90s, sometimes feels like 108 they say. So I rush to get my chores done early in the morning. Even the dogs do not want to stay outside very long.

Been missing you, when you are ready to share new stuff, we'll be here. Ciao.

hi ML, sorry I've been away from the forum over the last week. daytime temps here are high 60s F and mostly sunny but not warming up yet. It's good weather for getting a few things done around here, hot weather is so tiring isnt it?

We're getting our new solar hot water system this week, woot! ours has been limping along since the march storm and finally the insurance gave the go ahead to replace it. I'm so looking forward to it because it's been such a PITA for months now. My bedroom carpet should also be arriving soon. I put the deposit down a month ago and now I'm just waiting for a call to say it's arrived for the install. *tapping feet*. patience is not my strong point! lol

Trance that is really nice looking. Makes your whole fireplace look so elegant.

Chris

Trance, is your old water heating system solar powered also?
Or is this the first such system you will have? When it is put in, could you show me how many panels it requires on the roof or where-ever, how it does the job (like coils or panels, if you have an alternate heating option for dark days, or if there is a storage tank and what size.... Overall, is solar power used a lot in Australia?

My DH did not want to get the tankless water heating system this time, and we were not ready to build a solar system. Yes, BUILD one. When he taught engineering, he said that was one of the hands-on topics for his students, so I will have the benefit of his experience when we get around to building one. What I did when we had the little water heater lean-to built on the south side of our back porch (outside) was leave enough space for a solar hot water storage tank, with allowance for a valve system to bypass the electrical backup. It is all electrical now, but even if we just preheated and ran it through the electrical tank, it would be bound to reduce our electrical bills. I am in to alternative sources of energy. I also have all kinds of solar yard lights.

And the carpet. You are going to finish all SORTS of projects here. Bravo to you.

I know what you mean about patience not being a strong point. I always thought I was a patient laid-back person, until I realized that the sands of time were running out, and then I went into overdrive.

thanks shades, it should be a whole different look for the old tatty fireplace when it's done. :)

ML our current water heater is solar too but when we had a bad hail storm in march the glass panels got smashed and rain has been corroding the inside since. It hasnt worked as a solar system since the storm so we have to use the electric override to heat the water but it's expensive to keep running the override all the time so we switch it on and off from the outside switch box for each shower etc.

The solar water heaters are common over here and they all have a storage tank and either have an electrical override that uses an element in the tank, or a different system for gas to heat the water when it's overcast. It doesnt even need to be a warm or hot day to heat the water as long as it's sunny.

some people are installing solar panels now to feed power back into the grid to reduce their power bills. I don't know much about it or how well it works out economically but it's a new thing the power companies are doing I guess mainly to generate power without having to create a lot of extra infrastructure and power plants etc. You get a sense though that this is probably going to be a big part of our grid power supply in the future.

Im just amazed that you are going to build one, that is so amazing. I could see how you could save a lot by preheating the water. I remember when I was growing up we had a solar water heater but in winter we used a wood burning heater to heat the house and somehow that was hooked up to heat the water in winter as well. I have no idea how it was set up to do that but it was a brilliant concept.

I'll give you some details on how the new system works when it's in, it has a few differences to our current one so i want to make sure I'm giving you the right info about it. :)

hi everyone, I've been busily working away on my fireplace so I thought it was time for an update and I now have two pillars finished :)

here is the side view

I need to get some more pine so that I can start on the top board now and hopefully that will make the mantle look a bit more substantial since it's the original hardwood mantle and I don't really want to replace it

boy is my fireplace looking wide now, eek lol

Wow, Trance! You are so meticulous with your work. This will definitely be a focal point in your room.

When you say more pine to start on the top board, will there me a deeper mantle top board? Wowzers, it will be impressive.
I love the detailing.

thanks for the encouragement ML. The mantle is quite big when you look down on it but from the front it's a bit thin for the pillars.

The original plan was to add some moulding to the bottom of it to make it thicker but then I realised it wouldn't work because the fireplace is just too short and the pillars would have looked silly. So the new plan is to add a board beneath the mantle that will run between the two pillars at the top and join up with the corner block area, so it won't be part of the mantle but I'm thinking visually it will make the top area look more heavy.

Trance, you did an excellent job on the pillars. And the stain is great too. It totally changes the look of the F/P. Can't wait to see pics of the finished job.
Loretta