DIY Network

Fireplace: Measuring and Choosing Stone From "Rock Solid" episode DROC-101

'80s built home with out-of-date fireplaces

Stone masons Derek Stearns and Dean Marsico are at their friend Frank's home in Newport, RI. Frank called in his buddies to reface two of his fireplaces that are back to back with each other. Dean and Derek are going to be working with polished granite and polished boulder on this project.

Frank built his house in the early '80s, but has revamped most everything except his fireplaces. For a quick fireplace fix, he put down brick, tile and painted it all white. The fireplaces are in need of special attention. Derek and Dean are going to add two stone legs, a stone header and a stone hearth to each fireplace. One fireplace is in the dining room...the other is right behind it in the living room.

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	The dining room fireplace before Derek and Dean...
	and the fireplace after.
	The living room fireplace needed help...
	and help it got!

Materials:

Measuring tape
Pencil
Paper
Broom or hand brush
Heavy-duty trash bags/buckets
Drop cloth
Chisel
Chipping hammer
Stone hammer
Wood chisels
Grinder
Mask
High heat black stove paint
Trowel
1 clean 5-gallon bucket
1 (80 lb.) bag of thinset
Clean water
Veneer stone
Rubber mallet
Levels: 2 ft., 4 ft. and bullet
4 wood 2 x 4s
4 cement blocks
Hammer
Finish nails
Clean sponge
Safety Gear: Goggles and mask

Measuring the Fireplace

Tip: Dean and Derek recommend having two people measure to ensure that the measurements are accurate.

If your mantle is one piece, it might be easiest to remove it, make your measurements, install the stone and then replace the mantle. If you are unable to do this, follow the instructions below to create a granite veneer fireplace that will fit over the preexisting mantle.

1. Measure the legs of your fireplace first: measure the height by measuring from the top of the hearth to the bottom of the angle iron (figure A). The angle iron is the steel support that spans across the legs that supports the weight of the header. Measure the width from the inside of your mantel to the edge of the leg (figure B). If your legs are not the same width, use the wider length for both legs to ensure a symmetrical final product.

Figure A

Figure B

2. Measure the length and height of your fireplace header. The header spans across the legs of the fireplace. You should measure from the bottom of the mantle to the top of the angle iron (figure C).

3. Measure the depth and width of your hearth. Measure the hearth from the face of the existing fireplace to the face of the existing hearth (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

Note: Check your measurements by re-measuring before you take them to the fabricator.

4. Measurements in hand, you are now ready to take them to a fabricator.

Choosing Stone

Figure E

1. Find a fabricator for your granite or marble veneer. Good fabricators typically have a good display area (figure E), a sales staff that can answer questions and full service.

2. Pick out the stone that you want for your veneer. Dean and Derek use granite veneer for Frank’s dining room fireplace and polished boulder veneer for his living room fireplace. Both stones are cut to 3/4 inch thickness.

3. Stone typically takes between four and six weeks to have cut to your specifications.

Figure F

4. Once the stone is ready, have it delivered to your project location. The stone is very delicate and needs to be loaded on to A-frames to prevent breaking and shifting during transport (figure F).

RESOURCES :

Stone Fabricator
Olympia Marble & Granite, Inc.
Website: www.olympiamarble.com