Fireplace prep work

We’re starting to dive into the next phase of the fireplace project. With a little help from our friend, we managed to mount cement board to the facade. By “a little help”, I mean that he did most everything while I tried to assist and learn all the ways I would have screwed it up.

It actually turned out to be a good bit more challenging that I had ever thought it would be. Measuring and cutting the boards to fit the firebox opening and the corbels was tedious, but simple enough. After that the fun began, though. The stones in the facade were mostly even, but there were occasional protrusions that really made it tough to get the boards to line up with one another and to be plumb. We planned to use screw anchors and adhesive to attach the cement board, but after playing with them for a while and figuring out how to position the boards, we decided to mount them once without adhesive to make sure it was going to come out right after screwing things down. Luckily it did, so we took them down, and then re-mounted them with the adhesive.

Since the latest photo, we’ve also taped and sealed the center seam with joint compound to smooth it out. We still have to figure out what we are going to do with the sides of the facade, the corbels, and the rim of the firebox, but we have some options in mind. We also have to figure out what we want to do with the hearth.

Hopefully more updates and pics to come soon!