# need some help with the fireplace!



## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

Hey guys. Its been awhile since I've posted! I still come on here to check out the projects almost every day, just no time to actually "get involved" as of late. My wife and I bought a 100 year old house (really well taken care of) and have been doing some cosmetic updating to it, along with a few minor repairs.

To the point….

One of our projects is sprucing up the fireplace. My wife did not like the look of the stone on it, so we decided to paint it white….










We took out the old fireplace doors off so it'd be easier to paint. It was also in pretty poor shape and was this horrible sparkly brown color.

We (in haste) bought new fireplace glass doors that got delivered today. However, It fits on the face of the (now white) stone. This wouldn't be a big deal, however with the unevenness of the stone, there are large gaps between the stone face and the fireplace doors. The old doors fit inside the stone against the little lip you can see in these pics….










This pic is over-exposed so you can see the lip better…









Whats the fix here? I know nothing about this. I'm assuming there are such things as doors that fit like our old one, however I can't seem to find them on the internet (for a reasonable price). Is this going to be a custom job?

question two. now that the fireplace is white, we don't like the look of the mantel. It is mortared into the fireplace…


















I don't think sanding the mantel down (and re-staining) is a good idea, because then it wouldn't have that rough texture anymore.

What are my options? I was thinking about building a 5 sided box that would just fit over the mantel, but not sure how that would look. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance!! I appreciate it


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## TravisH (Feb 6, 2013)

I did similar to what you are thinking about doing but instead of building a box I had an assortment of boards, moldings, trim pieces, etc.. and just "built" it up to what I wanted it to look like. I used a finish nailer and went on the fly. I would tack a piece up or use painters tape and step back and take a look at the design and make changes on the spot. Far from any real construction but fit what my wife was looking for and was about the quickest way for me to put a check next to a honey do.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

Exactly as Travis has said, do a built up mantel. Figure out what you want it to look like and then build off of what you already have. Could be as simple as putting a wider and longer top with a ogee or some other detail and then crown moulding under that. You can completely hide the existing mantel.


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

That's kind of what I was thinking with the mantel

TravisH - any chance you could post a pic of your mantel?


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I built this one a few years ago to fit right over a smooth stone mantel. It was made to hold a flat panel tv.


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

That looks really good. However my wife still wants the rustic look. She wants it to look like a solid log - that's whats throwing me


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

Ah, so you want what you have, sorta. Maybe something like this will take off the paint/stain and give you a more natural and 
Igniter color. Maybe even look distressed by leaving little bits of the dark color. This should also leave the existing texture intact.
http://www.amazon.com/Dico-50-4-Flap-Assorted-Brushes/dp/B001F527F0/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_9


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

I've never seen those before. That might be a good option. Thanks!


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

On your fireplace doors, that round hole/door? in the back of the fireplace could be a fresh air intake used so
the fireplace would not draw air from inside the house for the fire. The round knob above the fireplace openilng
could be for the fresh air opening or for the damper used to close the flue and prevent cold air from coming 
down the chimney, but from the looks of it you should have doors that seal the front of the fireplace. You
could use the doors you bought if you can make them an airtight fit against the fireplace. This is just a 
guestimation made from looking at your picture and I have been known to be wrong once or twice.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Id fill those gaps with non shrink grout. Its used in masonry applications like fitting lentils into new door openings where the cut out is larger than the lentil. Typically it comes dry in a bag and you mix it up as you need it. You could make a "pastry bag" out of a heavy zip lock to make sure you fill the grout lines and get into those small gaps.

Cutting back the existing brick and infilling with s smooth faced brick would be another way to do it but mighty dusty and a much bigger pain in the neck.

Call up a local fireplace shop. They may have a flexible high temp caulk or sealer available too.


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## JustChet (Sep 17, 2013)

It might be a real pain in the backside, but you could might try using a wire wheel attached to a drill to remove the old stain. I used one on a walnut mirror frame I did a year ago. Time consuming beyond belief, but the result was worth it.

However, from what I'm seeing, you could just lightly "antique it" by using black paint and the same method as I said above, and have it be more visually appealing.


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