This is going to look nice Williamsem. I love the pebbles and the surround you've chosen. Smart that wore protection while spraying painting. That should even be done when using regular spray paint. Not that I always follow my own advise. Last time I spray painted I noticed the mask was dirty and I didn't want to take time to clean it. Shame on me.
Looking forward to seeing more progress. You got a good deal on the surround.

Looking good! I love that new surround and the tile you've chosen!

Very Nice! I will be following along with this post!

The progress looks great! I can't wait to see it all finished with the new stone tile.

We'd like to have our wood burning fireplace changed over to gas, too - hopefully within the next year or two. Do you mind if I ask for a rough ballpark what it cost you to do that? (My apologies if that's a rude question to ask, in which case you can ignore it.) ;)

It's going to look so nice when it's all done! Looks good so far!

You will love your gas insert. We had one installed in our FR fireplace two years ago. Not only do we use it all the time during the colder months, but it certainly came in handy during a few post-storm power outages, too.

You're doing really well....keep up the good work! Love green demolitions!

Love the new surround!

How exiting! My parents converted theirs to gas years ago and use it all winter, where before it was NEVER used.

I can't wait to see the finished product. I'm looking at my huge brick surround that is "okay". I keep trying to come up with something that will be worth the work!

What an amazing project to tackle -- and you were aided by the poor construction of the PO. Whenever I spray paint something rather than buying new, I'm surprised by how good it can look. And fireplace doors are soooo expensive. As I recall, when I had my wood-burning fireplace fitted for gas logs, the biggest expense was having the gas line plumbed to the fireplace. So that's going to vary depending on individual situations. What is so gratifying about the gas logs, is even the 24/7/365 burning of the pilot light doesn't affect my gas bill.

Can't wait to see your final photos. The stuffed panda has watched all of this unfold without moving. How do you do that???

Looking good! We redid our surround and were going to replace the doors and I took them to the fireplace shop to order new ones. The lady told me they start at $500 and suggested I just spray paint them since they were in good shape. She sold me Stove Top spray paint. I used cardboard and painters tape to make a surround for the grills attached to the firebox and the same for the doors which I did in the garage. They came out fantastic and the paint is forgiving..I messed up one part, sanded it a little and sprayed again and you can't tell. They look brand new, it was easy, and I saved a bundle.

Aw, thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. There's going to be a steep learning curve on this one! Nice to hear how much others have loved their gas conversion, makes me feel like it will be worth it.

We used an all in one place that cleans the chimney, runs the gas line, and sets up the insert. Of the three conversion options we had, this was the least expensive and made the most sense for how we would use it (even the sales guy recommended this over the others). The whole conversion was about $2k. Not cheap, but not too bad. We did it to enjoy it more, but I'm also hoping it will give us a slight edge if we sell as all the FPs in the development are wood, unless converted after the fact.

The rest of the tile came today! Here's a pic with the matching stacked pebbles for the outside edges.

Williamsem, Love the new mantel/surround turned/is turning out! Interesting to follow as we have two fireplaces which we don't use and are considering converting to gas. I look forward to seeing more progress pictures.

Hmm, I didn't think it was all the way back in September that I posted this. Guess I lost a few weeks somewhere!

Dad and I did the drywall work today. I've done small patching before, but nothing on this scale.

Current pics:

Bye bye tiles! Glad I had planned on new drywall.

...and goodbye drywall! I used one of those multifunction oscillating tools and it made fantastic cuts.

New drywall, installed as 3 pieces. I'm learning from a very experienced DIYer, they all fit perfectly the first time, no trimming.

After first two coats.

All tidied up before DH got home. Tomorrow I'm hoping to spray paint the metal, sand the seams, and put a final coat of spackel on. Lucky for me the side seams will be behind the mantel.

I'll probably have to wait another month for the next weekend DH has to work before tiling. I still need to work out some details for that.

Great patching job. It looks like you replaced the old drywall with more of the same. Did you consider using cement backer board? I wasn't sure if the drywall was far enough from the insert to not be a flammability hazard, or if there was any problem with the old tiles not adhering to the drywall paper face. I'm planning a similar fireplace update and assumed I would use cement backer board (Durock, Hardibacker, etc.) for my tiling, but maybe that's not necessary.

Thanks!

Yes, we replaced with the same we removed. Those tiles were very well adhered! We have a zero clearance insert, so we have a lot less to worry about, especially now that it's gas. If it was another type, I don't think our new mantel would be to code if I read it right. But it was in place when inspected for our permit validation and not a single comment.

I asked for some guidance in a tiling forum. While cement board was recommended for the hearth, because you can see up thread what happens when you tile over plywood/wood, they assured my drywall was fine for the vertical wall surface. I have to confirm that still (I need at least two agreeing sources when attempting something new), but I know my kitchen backsplash is over drywall.

I also know drywall is acceptable for basement finishing, it is one of the things accepted for fire code. So it might not need as much clearance as you think depending on the situation.

You should ask your local building code office about requirements. And don't forget to pull a permit. I hope you share your project, I love seeing what others do!

Well, I sanded with a wet drywall sponge and decided to spray paint instead of waiting for it to dry and re coating. I wish I had take a picture of the drop cloth set up, I had basically a four foot tunnel taped up with the mantel for the opening. The respirator works well, I had every window on the first floor open when I was done to ventilate.

So still one coat of drywall spackel to apply and sand, and then I'm hoping to tile in 3 weeks when DH is working his next weekend.

It looks great! How did you take the fireplace apart for cleaning and painting? I like the size of your new mantel. Is it new or reclaimed? I've heard of people finding good deals at demo warehouses, but yours is really great.

Thanks, Martia8, it wasn't that hard. I knew the bottom grill should just pull out, it snaps in place with a tension system (a little bump that settles into a small depression). Then I just started unscrewing whatever I could. I got the door tracks out pretty easy, they were obviously seperate pieces. Then I took out all the screws on the sides, but turns out I missed the small spot welds that keep the face on, so that had to stay. Still a good idea to remove them so they don't get painted on. Be smart and put them all in a ziplock for safe keeping.

So I set up with some drop clothes in the garage and used high temp paint to spray the bottom grill and tracks. Then I just recently set up and painted the rest in place. I used a roll of pre assembled painters tape with plastic sheet attached to tape across the bottom, then another piece to go all the way around the sides, extending about a foot onto the floor on each side. At the corners, I taped a little past the corner, then folded the tape back to make the turn and continue. That gave enough play where it didnt cover any of the face. You will need to attach the open end to something to hold it up, effectively making a tunnel. Wear a vapor respirator, turn off any possible source of a spark/ignition, and open all the windows.

To clean the parts, I used a thin reusable microfiber cloth. I'm not yet convinced they are reusable, they're new for me. I just got them damp and wiped until it came away nearly clean. The grill that came off I could thread the cloth through and clean that way. The other one I used qtips. I used craft paper to cover the openings while painting the face.

I love the mantel too! I got it at Green Demolitions for $200. I just used some wood putty to fill in a few nicks, then sanded it well, washed, primed, and painted with trim paint. I had the sand paper, primer, and paint already on hand from past projects, so it was super cheap.

The other mantel made me uneasy and I hadn't realized that. I think it was the height and how top heavy it was plus hanging over the hearth. Just seemed off size and unbalanced. I love the new one, even though overall it is the same length and the opening is the same size.

I told DH that going DIY I've already saved at least $500 on the mantel, probably $500 on drywall repair/hearth, and $1300 by not buying a new surround, so the new logs are already paid for :-). Not even counting the tile job yet.

Finally, more progress! We decided to put the new floor in first, so that took some time.

Dad "helped" me start tiling today. I did the work, but it was great to have someone think through the process with me first. Plus it was a huge help having Dad pull off all the tiles we needed for individual placing. Too late to mix a fresh batch of cement and finish today, so grouting will have to be pushed back a bit and the rest of the tile will go on tomorrow.

Due to the narrow spaces, these were all individually set.

This post was edited by williamsem on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 18:42

I am so impressed you are doing this yourself with your dad!

Thanks, kswl, it's had a pretty steep learning curve but I think it will worth it!

Tiling is done! I'm hoping to grout later in the week. I had hoped to grout tomorrow, but I'm moving pretty slow right now so I had to bump tonight's trip to the store to tomorrow (don't have time for both before work) and bump the grout later in the week.

Do those type of stones need to be sealed before grouting ?

No sealing needed. I could have sealed before install if I wanted to. I can also seal after grouting to seal the grout, still debating that. It's gas, so no soot residue to worry about, and it will also make the stones darker. I want to see what it looks like grouted before I decide.