the Fireplace project

october

2005

march

2006

john caruso

ii

introduction

demolition

design
surround
mantel
mantel engineering

3
4
5

stone search

black beauty
stone selection
stone origin
stone history and scientific papers

8
9
10

t e m p l at i n g t h e s t o n e

12

s i t e p r e pa r at i o n

14

s u r r o u n d Fa b r i c at i o n / i n s ta l l at i o n

16

m a n t e l Fa b r i c at i o n / i n s ta l l at i o n

19

Fire screen door

20

r e s u lt s / t h e g r a d e

21

beFore and aFter

22

introduction

after moving into a c.1960 split-level

house in 1999, it was painfully obvious
that the original owners hadnt
updated the house since the late
1970s. but just a few years after the
minimum upgrades were finished, the
fireplace surround, a 1960s-diyhomeowner-special, was suddenly
crying out for a make-over (photo).
and one that would inspire a design
experience in 3d while allowing me to
play with one of my favorite materials:
stone.

and just like many creative, if not

labor-intensive projects i undertake,
with all the trials and tribulations,
lessons and the successes, preserving
the experience can become another
project in itself!
The Fireplace Project.
october 2005 march 2006

d e m o l i t i o n

10

since the living room had already

been turned into a work zone in
preparation for painting, it seemed like
the perfect time to begin demolition.
and in order to know what i would be
working with, the first step would be
to strip everything down to brick
and studs.
as seen on the previous page, the
existing surround was a diy homeowner special with a built-in
shelf/cabinet unit that stretched wallto-wall.

While dismantling the woodwork

only took a few of hours, it wasnt until
the demolition of the hearth that i got
a real sense of the work ahead.
(1) it would have been nice not to
have had to demo the hearth slab,
but after removing the tile, an unstable
base of crumbling concrete was
revealed.
(2) Fortunately, the first layer of
concrete, though time-consuming,
was relatively easy to remove.

(3) the sub-floor concrete was as

unstable as the top layer, and had to
be removed.
(4) the second of three layers of
concrete removed there were at
least two more below, but fortunately
these appeared pretty solid.
(5) hearth demo complete.
(6) marker sketch of draft design.
(7) paper template of draft design.

(8) Wall demolition.

(9) as much as i didnt like the idea of
messing with the floor, the existing
footprint of the hearth was at least
two inches off center and required me
to get out the saws-all.
(10) a milestone ready for prep!

s u r r o u n d

design

having had an affinity for stone since

childhood, i could hardly wait to
consider the possibilities. and while
the stone would certainly be the
primary focus, the design would be
equally important.
(a) my original and favorite design. i
just loved the look and feel of the two
vertical columns framing the firebox,
and extending above the mantel and
header. but more than one stone
setter voiced serious concern with the
challenge a suspended header would

pose. add having little confidence in

my final fabricator, and not wanting to
risk the header coming down, design
modifications would lead to my first
compromise.
(b) stepping back. straight-forward
and traditional, if not structurally
logical, with header supported by legs.
(c) a one-piece solution. not so
interesting, but after selecting such an
exotic material, it lent itself well to
showing off the unique characteristics
and movement in the stone.

(d) a/c hybrid. even though they were

no longer the authentic columns in
version a, i still liked the extensions
above the mantel. and the one-piece
solution of version c would maximize
the integrity and visual of the stones
movement.
at ~33sf, the new surround would
be three times the surface area as the
previous surround.

m a n t e l

design

The material. i was looking forward

to the mantel being one of the most
important details in the design. to
simply place a rectangular mantel on
top of the header (in the classic
manner), was never an option.
instead, i envisioned an exotic wood
seamlessly and apparently floating out
of the stone. and with a gently curved
return, it would be a nice balance to
the hard linear feeling of the stone
surround.
regardless of the stone, ive always
liked the rich, deep red-brown color of
rosewood, mahogany, and padauk.
and though most woods can be
stained to whatever color is desired,
this was another opportunity to reveal
the quintessential integrity of the grain

and color for such an unique material.

of course in order to fully experience
its beauty, this would require a solid,
rather large, one-piece board.
While i would have preferred
rosewood, availability in large boards
was non-existent, and would have
required joining two or more pieces
together an expense and timeconsuming step i wanted to avoid.
Fortunately, mahogany is relatively
light-weight compared to most other
woods, and this would later become a
plus factor.

The cantilever. as the law of physics

dictate, this is much easier seen,
than done. since i wanted the support
to appear invisible, my research
began with a call to an architect i
knew. however, after looking at my
drawings and the proportions of
weight-to-support, he was reluctant
to offering any advice.
i also turned to people at hardware
and lumber stores, figuring they would
at least have the brackets, and
possible suggestions of how they
might work in my design. the
comments were consistent if not
deflating, With that design, youre
definitely going to have to use some
exposed supporting blocks or angle
brackets under the shelf. thats all
there is to it!

in light of not hearing what i wanted

it was way too early to take no for
an answer and i became even more
determined to realize my vision.
to give myself confidence, i spent
hours surfing the Web, e-mailing, and
recalling anything id seen. ironically,
the inspiration for my solution was
literally within arms reach the entire
time a floating shelf in my office.
though this product was nothing
more than small and light-weight
shelf with two exposed one-piece
brackets, it would be the basis for the
engineering of my hidden support.

m a n t e l

engineering

the

armature

new stone
B) second, mirrored angle iron

cantilevered mantel, wood

A) first angle iron

new stone
exist. cinder block

new concrete
board

shims

exist. brick
face

the primary armature (a 1/8", 2" x 2"

x 69" angle iron (a), would be the
under support. but it was pretty
obvious a two depth would never hold
the weight of such a wide and large
board from falling. so adding the
opposing angle iron above (b) was my
solution fastening both with concrete
screws every 3 inches to create a
channel across the entire width of the
surround. i wasnt sure if this shared
the same engineering principles as
large-scale cantilevered structures
(compression below, opposing tension
above) but i went with my intuition
that it just seemed to make sense.

For added support i planned to

use construction adhesive to glue
the mantel into the channel, but to
my surprise and excitement, this
step would be unnecessary.

stone search

my original vision for the stone was

natural clefted slate with variations of
color and movement ranging from
blacks to rusts. ive also always liked
the look of stained concrete (1) and
decided to digitally merge that with
common slate (2) to achieve my vision
(3). however, after thinking i could
easily find such a stone, my
enthusiasm was quickly replaced with
reality. due to the soft nature of slate,
its availability in large slabs is limited to
gray or black with little to no color
variation or movement. otherwise, the
multi-colored slates, like rustic black

(4), only came in tiles. but i just

couldnt compromise the opportunity
and visual experience of having a large
one-piece stone.
after finally accepting the fact that i
wouldnt get my first choice in
material, it was time to change
direction. ive always loved travertine
(5) but along with being very soft, it
also doesnt come in the darker
shades that i was looking for.
and while ive also always loved
granite, the typical polished finish was
opposed to the natural look i also

envisioned. but it only took the

seduction of actually seeing these
stones in person to turn me around.
Volga blue (6). While this granite was
far too static for me, and fairly
common, it did have the deep color
shade i was looking for. however, the
iridescent blue minerals, though
impressive, did not.
(7, 8). two other nice stones on an
excursion out to Frederick, md.

10
7

after spending several weekends

looking at stone, these two emerged
as possibilities and i was anxious to
render them into the design. the
colors, depth and overall Wow! factor
these stones possess was an eyeopening experience in person.
twister green (9). in short, this was
one of the most amazing works of
natural stone art ive ever seen. so
much so, i was almost seduced into
leaving my original vision behind.

juparana delicitus (10). not at all

what i was looking for, but again, an
impressive stone. impossible to see in
this image, but among other minerals,
it contains deep red garnets
throughout.

s t o n e

s e l e c t i o n

1) First photo of slab #31 at Avanti, and 2) Detail

3) Full slab, measuring 106"w x 79"h x 1.25".
At 20lbs/sf, this piece (58.12sf) weighs in at over 1,000lbs.
If it were feasible, affordable, and up to me, I would have put the
entire slab on the wallas is.
8
3

after spending the entire month

searching but not finding my ideal
stone, my luck would change. shortly
after stepping into the warehouse at
avanti marble and granite in Frederick,
md., from a distance i was drawn to
one stone immediately. upon closer
inspection it was even more
magnificent. i was sure i had finally
found the stone black beauty. it
was like nothing i had ever seen before
and i couldnt take my eyes off of it.
however, at ~$50/sq ft (just for the
stone) the cost brought me back down
to earth. Well, maybe a little.

slabs are numbered as they are

sliced, from single large blocks (like
loaves of bread). there were seven
slabs in this collection, two numbered
31 and 32, and five numbered 1
through 5. since i knew #32 would be
pretty identical to #31 (showing), i
asked to see slab 1 (knowing 25
would be similar to each other). due
to the risk of breakage, its rare for
these importers to pull more than one
slab for inspection. in fact, some
refuse to pull any. in other words,
whatever slab is showing, thats the
one you get. Fortunately the people at
avanti were kind enough to pull the

other slabs in the group where we

discovered that all the slabs 15 were
cracked! so slab #31, it was.
being somewhat of a rock hound, if
not insatiably curious, i wanted to
know a little more about this
mysterious stone. and aside from
being one of the most expensive
stones on the market (third only to
azul bahia, azul macaubus, and azul
do mar Quartzite), i had never heard
of it, and only this importer in the
Washington, dc area actually carried
it. my fascination evolved into an
obsession as information about this

stone became more obscure than i

had hoped. so after several hours
surfing the Web i was even more
intrigued to learn that:
a) this stone falls into the class of
breccia, a more rare type of
conglomerate known for its mosaic
composition of angular clasts (vs
the more available round types)
b) the high price tag has as much to
do with the unique beauty of this
stone, as its remote origin near the
arctic circle and the entire process
it takes to get it here.

b l a c k

b e a u t y

country oF origin

black beauty breccia comes from

Vrlandet, norway, one of the
outermost islands situated in the
mouth of the adlefjorden west of
askvoll in the county of sogn og
Fjordane and not far from the
arctic circle.
While Vrlandet only has a population
of approximately 200, and fishing and
farming are the most important
industries here, the recent export of
high quality stone is expanding.

the stone is mined by brimmen

Quarry into massive blocks weighing
several tons. this raw material is then
shipped to Verona, italy where it is
processed into polished 3cm slabs by
antolini luigi & company. the antolini
luigi Web site (www.antolini.it) is
worth visiting, if not for the experience
of seeing other exotic and rare stones,
but a look at quintessential italian
design.

b l a c k

b e a u t y

geological history

&

composition

Even with a hint of self-promotion, these reports commissioned by the Brimmen Quarry are intriguing.

10

The Stones History

ebbe hartz (d. geol)
black beauty is a fascinating and
heterogeneous composition of rock
types, colors and shapes a so-called
conglomerate. it has taken a hundred
million years to form, and its history
spans the most dramatic period in
norways geological development.
How the stone was formed
the dark green and red components
in the stone are volcanic rocks that
were formed in an oceanic region west
of norway more than 425 million years
ago. this ocean is called the protoatlantic.
Four hundred million years ago, the
continental drift resulted in the
formation of what was the worlds
largest mountain range. as West
norway collided with greenland, the

ancient ocean floor was forced

upwards and the caledonian mountain
range was formed. in scale it could be
compared with the himalayas today.
then, around 380 million years ago,
the mountains were subjected to
erosive forces. coarse materials such
as sand and gravel were deposited by
river systems in the valleys. this is the
black rock we see in black beauty, i.e.
the ancient sea bed, surrounded by
light sand.
during this erosion process the
conglomerate was simultaneously
heated up to a couple of hundred
degrees celsius. the sand and pebbles
that were deposited in the river beds
were thus formed into stone. in fact, it
was this heating process that gave
black beauty its characteristic
hardness.

Sedimentary breccia (A), oldest of the

sedimentary rocks and forms a transition zone
between greenstone and the overlying
conglomerate (B).

The SINTEF Report

lisbeth alns, research fellow.
natural stone from Vrlandet
Vrlandet, melvr, bulandet and
sandy are the outermost islands
situated in the mouth of the fjord west
of askvoll in the county of sogn og
Fjordane. this small collection of
islands and holms provide an

interesting journey through norwegian

geological history. in the north you find
sedimentary rocks such as
conglomerate, sandstone and breccia
in close proximity with greenstone.
several discoveries of fossilized
plants have been made on bulandet
and Vrlandet.

Summation
average values obtained for
bulk density:
open porosity:
Water absorption.
bending tensile strength:
compressive strength:
abrasion index:

breccia:
3002 kg/m3
0.2%
0.07% by weight
22.7 n/mm2
191.5 n/mm2
2.3 and above

mineral content in the greenstone fragments:

45% chlorite
35% amphibole
10% feldspar
3% muscovite
2% hematite
2% epidote

greenstone is the oldest rock type on

Vrlandet, deposited as lava on the
ocean floor during a period that spans
from 570 to 430 million years ago
(cambro-silurian period).
the sedimentary rocks were deposited
on land around 400-345 million years
ago in a basin that sank along major
fracture zones running in an east-west
direction. these fracture zones were
caused by tremendous forces in the
earths crust, and huge amounts of
rounded clasts of previously formed
rocks, together with sand and gravel,
were transported by rivers that ran from
the north of the basin. these
sediments have a total thickness of
3,500 metres. sedimentary breccia is
the oldest of the sedimentary rocks
and forms a transition zone between
greenstone and the overlying

mineral content in the intermediary deposit:

45% quartz and feldspar
14% chlorite
15% carbonate
10% epidote
10% amphibole
3% hematite
2% muscovite
1% biotite, titanite, zircon

conglomerate. sandstone, which

features on holms south of Vrlandet,
represents the youngest element of the
loose material deposited in this basin.
Sedimentary breccia
the greenstone breccia on Vrlandet
lies between greenstone and
conglomerate and as mentioned, forms
a transition zone between the two.
breccia appear as massive ridges in
the terrain and to a certain extent is
fissured. the rock comprises angled
fragments of green to almost black
greenstone that have been torn loose
from the underlying greenstone. the
fragments can also be deep red in
colour due to the presence of jasper.
the size varies from 0.5-10 cm, usually
around 4-5 cm, and they are cemented
together by brownish-grey sandstone.

the greenstone fragments may also

contain thin, bright traces consisting of
epidote and calcareous spar. the stone
polishes well and results in a darkbrown to black surface. it is possible to
quarry large blocks of the stone.
Greenstone
as mentioned, the greenstone was
originally deposited as lava, which later
transformed into a dense, fine-grained
rock that primarily consisted of
amphibole, epidote, feldspar, titanite
and some calcareous spar. immediately
under the breccia are greenstone
deposits that have been broken up and
later cemented together by veins and
thin traces of bright minerals feldspar,
epidote, carbonate and quartz. When
polished these acquire a greenishyellow to grey-white hue. these run

through the greenstone in several

directions and give the stone a lively
pattern against a dark green to black
background. the greenstone also
contains rich deposits of jasper. the
red jasper generally forms an outer
zone around the greenstone deposits
and gives the rock nuances of reddishbrownish clouds. it should be
possible to quarry small blocks and
smaller pieces of this greenstone
variant near to the breccia.

11

t e m p l at i n g

t h e

s t o n e

a n d

r e n d e r i n g

Hearth Top

Hearth Front

Upper Surround

Lower Surround

12
1

Hearth Sides

one of the more frustrating lessons

that i learned when dealing with stone
fabricators is the business of material
ownership. specifically, the stone. it
seems the practice in the stone
business only allows for sale of the
material to fabricators not the end
customer. and when a fabricator gives
the customer a price, its based on
square footage of the final installation,
leaving any left over material the
property of the fabricator. amazingly
though, the customer is actually
charged for the entire slab! and in this
case, the slab was costing me
$2,500! so a perfectly logical question

re this practice might be, if im being

charged for the entire slab, why
should the fabricator get to keep the
unused stone?
Furthermore, typically once the stone
is purchased by the fabricator, and
unless the customer expresses an
interest in the usage area, the
templating is done by the fabricator.
based on the above ownership issue,
it seems to reason that it is in their
best interest, not mine, to maximize
the non-used stone for resale.
generally wouldnt make a difference
when the stone has little to no
movement or points of interest, such

as most granites. but this piece did

and lots of it.
so at the very least, i thought i should
have a say in the templating and
usage of the stone regardless of
what the waste would yield. so after
setting up a time to photograph the
slab, and some time in photoshop, i
settled on the final template of the
stone (1).
out of the original 58+ square feet of
stone, there was approximately 25 sf
of waste, and still with quite a few
nice pieces remaining. at the very
least, the cut-out from the fire hole
would certainly make for a nice table

top. to my surprise and after i argued

the questionable practice of
ownership, the fabricator said i could
indeed have the remaining pieces of
stone. a minor feeling of achievement
in light of what would become a most
vexing experience with this these
people.
(2) With the stone templated, i
experimented with how the new
surround would look with various wall
colors and floor coverings. this area
rug was by far my favorite, but with a
$6,000 price tag, not!

13
3

to say i couldnt wait to see the

finished look would be an
understatement and i printed/tiled
together 12x18 sheets of my
templating to scale and hung them in
place!

s i t e

p r e pa r at i o n

mantel

armature

14

(1) area above the existing surround

where the armature for the new
mantel would be fastened.

(2) counter-sinking the screw holes,

which were located every 3 inches in
an alternating up-down pattern.

i picked up the angle irons at dixie

sheet metal and had them cut to 69
inch lengths. i would have had them
drill and counter-sink the holes as well,
but at a cost $168, and 4-day
turnaround, it was money and time i
couldnt afford. instead, i brought
them home and had my contractor do
it in about 30 minutes.

(3) after 33 pilot holes were set with

a hammer drill the lower angle iron
was fastened in place with concrete
screws.

5
6

(4) lower angle iron, bubble-on level.

(5) i used one-inch blocks of wood for
spacers and c-clamped the top angle
iron in position for the final pilot holes.
(6) perfectly parallel and level armature
in place.

s i t e

p r e pa r at i o n

hearth

Foundation

10

11

15

12

(7) applying this layer of concrete to

even out the hearth foundation ended
up being a wasted step as the stone
fabricator misled me regarding their
responsibilities. as it turns out, i would
also have to re-build the entire hearth
foundation. arrrgh!
(8) building the form for the hearth
slab. i had two issues with the design
and materials in this step, but with
tensions already building with my
contractor it was just one of several
battles not worth fighting.

13

(9) chiseling out more floor to fit

the form
(10) at least the front was level
(11) While my contractor again
thought this was overkill, i wanted
some form of tie-down of the top slab
to the existing lower slab so we
randomly placed concrete screws
prior to pouring the new layer.
(12) new concrete poured.
(13) it was nice to see the new slab,
which i had hoped would be perfect.
but just as i suspected, after the
contractor took a shortcut in the
form the slab was indeed skewed.

14

(14) We couldnt do anything to add to

the left side, but at the very least i felt
we could square the right side by
removing the excess. the contractor
suggested we break up about 3
inches down the entire right side and
re-pour concrete. given the labor and
time this would have taken as well as
potentially compromising the
structure, this was a battle worth
fighting and i urged we cut it instead.
Fortunately, he didnt put up much
resistance this time and went out and
bought a grinder with a diamond

15

blade. in about 15 minutes, with

minimum labor, the adjustment was as
good as it could be.
(15) Finally, the area is ready for the
new surround installation!

s u r r o u n d

Fabrication/

installation

10

16

one word agonizing.

i found there are two kinds of
companys that do this type of work
marble and granite fabricators, and
stone setters. the marble and granite
shops are plentiful in this area and
almost all of the their work is
residential kitchen and bath. there are
much fewer stone setters and their
work is primarily commercial (building
facades, etc.). yet before i even
solicited my first quote, gut instinct
and common sense told me to run
from the marble and granite

fabricators. after all, this was not a

counter top and i needed someone
who understood vertical set stone, if
not facade experience. unfortunately,
price and schedule became a greater
influence.
Quotes (including stone):
stone setter: $6,200
Fabricator 1: 4,000
Fabricator 2: 5,600
Fabricator 3: 8,900
the top-tier price of the stone didnt
help matters and blew away my
pre-conceived budget. so against
my better judgement i went with
Fabricator 1 (stone surfaces, inc.,

md). after contacting them, their yes,

we do fireplaces, was never really
convincing. so in an effort to prepare
them for my expectations and what
they would be dealing with, i provided
them with a plethora of drawings and
site photographs.
my lack of confidence was further set
when the co-owner, kourush, came
by for the measurement. along with
many other comments that fed my
doubt, he had not even looked at the
materials i had sent them. and, it was
only then i was informed that the
customer is responsible for preparing

all surfaces for the stone, and that

they simply cut, polish, and install. in
other words, i had to build the
concrete slab too (p.16). my father
happened to be there for the
measurement, and being equally
frustrated with this new information,
even suggested to kourush maybe
you should change your name to Cut
and Paste. i only sunk further into
doubt when i asked kourush what
they planned to use to secure the
stone. answer: silicone. hmmm,
silicone? Fireplace? yes we do
fireplaces. arrrgh!

11

12

13

17

14

15

Fast forward. late one day i was

called in to confirm the templating of
the stone and was non-plussed to see
kourush in the process re-marking a
full-sized print-out of my layout and
even less than pleased to see them
cutting it out with scissors. that is, i
wrongly assumed this process would
be a little more hi-tech like maybe
laser mapping the pattern directly onto
the stone(?) at this point i couldnt
help but suggest they at least use a
razor and straight-edge for accuracy, if

10
16

17

not efficiency. it was my one sense of

amusement with these people as
kourush looked like he had just
discovered ice cream.

catch up, they rushed my job, and the

lack of attention to detail and quality,
was clearly evident once the stone
was delivered (1316).

of course by the time the paper

template was cut it was closing time,
and this is where i think things went
wrong. Very wrong. these guys are
the cheapest guaranteed, because
they run these slabs through like a fast
food joint. i assume in order for them
to keep up the assembly line, my
slab should have been cut that day.
instead it would have to wait until the
next day. its my theory that in order to

proof: You get what you pay for.

i was so angry that i decided to turn
their slogan cheapest guaranteed, to
my benefit, by refusing to pay for their
shoddy work or come take out the
stone. Fortunately, they agreed that i
would only have to pay for the stone
and nothing for their services ($1,500).

s u r r o u n d

Finishing

18

(1, 2) With the surround in place, just

days before christmas, i was anxious
to at least get the wall finished.
unfortunately this too became a
source of frustration as my contractor
more or less decided that this project
was no longer a priority for him. aside
from leaving the drywall mud out to
freeze, and killing another day waiting
for it to thaw, once applied to the wall,
we were left with bubbles everywhere.
again, arrrgh!

still, i kept my spirits lifted by visiting

several specialty hardwood shops and
found the mantel material at colonial
hardwoods in springfield, Va. not
only did they have an amazing
selection of raw material, the owner,
jiri, could not have been more
accommodating and just about as
nice as anyone ive ever met.
i had a little panic when neither the
rosewood or padauk (5), boards met
the minimum measurement i needed
of 80"l x 13"d x 1-1/2" thick. but
since mahogany was also on the short
list, jiri took me to see his stock

where i found the size needed. (6) the

color seemed to be pretty much what
i had also envisioned, but being kilndried and rough cut, there was no
way to really see the grain or color in
these boards. jiri was more than
accommodating when he offered to
micro-plane it for me. once he had,
the grain was indeed beautiful, and he
assured me the color would be even
more spectacular once finished.
i was excited to get the 8' x 2' x 2
board to my carpenter to shape and
finish the mantel. but for his lack of

motivation so far (the drywall fiasco),

and after several days sitting in his
outdoor studio, i decided to pull this
most important facet of the job from
him. after all, the last thing i needed
now was a warped $250 board!
Fortunately, colonial hardwoods also
did custom mill work, and i decided i
would take the board back to them for
finishing.
since the fireplace would be without a
mantel for at least two more weeks,
some creative garnering would have

m a n t e l

material

selection,

Fabrication,

installation

19

10

to suffice to hide the exposed

armature during the holidays. (3, 4)
before could take the board to the mill,
i had to template the shape (7-8).
attempting to create a symmetrical
curve over such a large area gave me
some pause as the center of the
radius would have been somewhere
outside of the house! but since
necessity is the mother of invention...
i first had to find a long thin material
that would bend with consistent
tension and maintain a firm curve to

11

trace. looking around a hardware

store i found a 1/4" x 1/4" x 8' piece
of wood batten. marking the center of
the board and deepest part of the
finished mantel at 12, i fastened the
center of the batten at the highest
point (apex) on the curve (7a). i then
marked the depth of the returns at
each end of the mantel at 4-1/2" from
the back (7b). i enlisted my son chris
to pull one side down as i pulled down
the other to our respective outer/lower
marks. i nailed my end down and then
chris end.

12

Wa la! i had my curve. it was now just

a matter of tracing the inside of the
form.
i cant say enough about colonial
hardwoods for their part in this phase
of the project. their precision was so
exact, that with minimal sanding (9)
the mantel insert was tight enough
that no glue was needed. in summary,
the custom milling and finishing of this
beautiful piece of mahogany was
about the only thing in this entire
project that met or exceeded my
expectations (1013).

13

F i r e

s c r e e n

d o o r

20

another agonizing vendor experience.

i was always set on a minimalistic
design with the look and inherent
quality of hand-crafted iron fire doors.
yet with all the challenges and
frustrations i had experienced thus
far, this step of the project would
seem totally unbelievable if it
werent actually true.
as one of the few fireplace retailers in
the area, i decided to visit bromwells
in Falls church, Va. they had just
about every conceivable option
available, from the big garish shiny
brass sets to the custom wrought iron
doors i had envisioned.

While i had an initial sticker shock at

the $1,200, i was totally sold on the
hand-made craftsmanship of these
doors. not wanting to cheap out now,
i shelled out the $500. deposit and
placed the order.
looking back, i should have noted the
red flag evidenced by a couple who
had stormed into the store demanding
their money back after they had given
bromwells their deposit, but had yet
to hear from the store after 5 weeks
not even for the measurement!
i was told my doors would be ready in
about 6 weeks, and i could hardly wait.
When i called for an update 6 weeks

later, they said they told me 8 weeks.

suspicions raised, at 7 weeks, i called
for another eta and was starting to get
the run-around Well get back to
you tomorrow, so and so is not in,
etc., etc. to say i was reaching
maximum tolerance would be an
understatement.
after some sleuthing i was able to find
the name of the manufacturer (stolls)
looking for answers and decided to
call them directly. after being told they
needed the retailers p.o. number, i
had to press bromwells to give it to
me. When i called the manufacturer
back i was told the order had not

been processed due to lack of

payment by bromwells. (think: are
you Fg kidding me?) after explaining
my situation to one of the managers,
they agreed to sell me the doors at
wholesale and promised i would have
my doors in two weeks. i immediately
called bromwells and demanded my
full deposit within 2 days or i would
picket their store that weekend and
leave flyers on car windows. i wasnt
kidding. so angry at this bait and
switch, i even designed a sign ready
and readied to call them out! my
refund was posted within 2 days, and
my doors arrived on march 17.

r e s u lt s :

the

grade

21

after more than three months with all

its trials and tribulations, i decided to
grade this project a b, heavily
weighted up by the materials and
overall finished impression.
ironically, the end result was so close
to my original vision that along with
the frustrations, it was almost anticlimactic.
still, i think to myself, how cool is
that?

Project Grade (5 = Excellent)

design
material
Fabrication: stone
mantel
Fire doors
cost
time
Grade

Project Cost
preparation/materials
surround
stone
Fabrication/install

~400.
2,505.
(1,500.)*

mantel
mahogany material
Fabrication
installation material

220.
325.
20.

Fire doors

715. (1,200. retail)

Final Cost $ 4,185. (vs 6,170)

* No charge on labor from stone fabricator

MFR direct cost.

22

beFore

iii

aFter
with new coffee table re-purposed from the fire hole cut out.

iv

the Fireplace project

october

2005

march

john caruso

2006