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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Cabin Chronicles Part 10

Chinking the inside of the cabin and building the fireplace hearth.
 
In between the logs there is actually some insulation. It is encased between metal lathe and the chinking compound on both sides. Inside and outside.
 
I do not have pics of us working on the chinking inside, but you can see how we did it on the outside HERE. It was the same process inside, except we stuffed insulation in between the logs before we nailed the metal lathe up.
 
 
(here's a pic of the completed fireplace and chinking)
 
The cabin is super efficient and pretty much regulates a constant comfortable temperature unless the weather is extremely hot or freezing. This is super good for our power bills!
 
We use two window air conditioners in the heat of the summer and two electric baseboard heaters in the cold of winter. We also start a fire almost everyday when it's cold.
The fireplace is super cozy and takes only minutes to heat the entire cabin.
 
(I open the window on my side of the bed at night because it gets too warm upstairs for me when we have a fire, but don't tell my husband)
 
 
This is the beginning of the fireplace
 
 
We framed out the area that we wanted covered in stone with plywood
 
 
We had to install hardie/cement board around the opening to comply with safety regulations.
Then we had a licensed fireplace company install a Lenox glass front, wood burning fireplace insert.
 They also installed the chimney flue and cap.  
 
We covered the remaining exposed plywood with tar paper
 
 
 
 
Next we covered the tar paper with metal lathe.
Then I began rough fitting the stones and laying them in a pattern on the floor
 before we actually set them in place with cement.
(3 years of work and this is the only pic of me working???)
 
 
Next came a thin layer of cement over the lathe
 
 
 We "scored" /cut lines into the cement while it was wet to give it a rougher finish,
which should help the stones adhere to it easier.
 
 
One by one, each stone was given a scoop of cement of the back and fit into place
 
 
 We were completely finished installing all of the stones in place except one last red stone that my husband had held aside for the top center. He installed that last red stone and we took a step back to admire our work. We were quite pleased with the results.
 
Then...
 
....it happened, that last red stone fell. It broke quite a few stones on the bottom hearth and destroyed my perfect pattern.
 
 
After I quit crying, we removed the broken stones and began to try to fill in the spaces with other stones. We finished it, but it will never be quite right, in my opinion.
 
 
The joints between the stones were filled in with cement,
the excess cement was gently brushed off of the stones and this project was left to dry.
 
 
We thoroughly enjoy the fireplace, despite the stone mishap.
 
We'll be cuddling up by it tonight, probably watching a Christmas movie!
 
Is it too soon for Christmas movies?
Shhh, I had Christmas music on last night while cooking.
 
 
'til next time,
post signature
 
PS. If you would like to start from the beginning of the construction click HERE.
 Part 11
 
 
 
Linking to:
A Night Owl Blog

7 comments:

  1. You may have had a stone mishap, but the finished product is really nice. Did you find the stones for the fireplace on your property?

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    1. Hi Ellen,
      Thank you and no these stones are actually manufactured to look like field stones but are not as heavy as the real ones. Although we have dug up enough stones around here that we could have used them. They have all been put to good use though around the base of some of our outbuildings and a rock ledge that we built to dress up a slope in our property.

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  2. WOW!!! This is a REAL home (or should I say 'cabin') DIY!! Bravo to you both. Pinned also. Linda

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    1. Thanks Linda! I'll be posting more on the inside soon. There are lots of little projects/furniture we've made for the cabin.

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  3. Wow indeed!! What an amazing job you two are doing on your beautiful home! Such a cozy place to spend Christmas. Sorry about the mishap... those things always seem to happen. Luckily time seems to soften those blows. Thanks much for your visit and kind comments. Followin' right back! :)

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  4. love it looks so much like it belonged there from the beginning
    come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Angie, I'm off to check out your blog!

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