Faux Fired Up

It all started with a text from my mom. She had found a mantel at her local Restore in Tennessee for around $66. The text was accompanied by this picture.

After asking some questions and thinking it over, I texted her to pick it up. This began a three week journey for this fireplace accoutrement, from Restore floor to our dining room.

I had wanted a mantel for our dining room since we had moved in. It didn't need to work, it just needed to be a traditional representation of what a dining room means. It tends to be a place where people gather around a fire/table and be together. I also liked how it gave a more official dining room feel to a room that was originally the living room. It had always needed a little help not feeling like an after thought of an area.

On Pinterest, of course, I had fallen in love with this image from the blog Bless'er House.

http://www.blesserhouse.com/2014/07/diy-faux-fireplace-entertainment-center_28.html

It was visually demanding, yet very airy in the room. I loved the stone surround, but especially the wood cuts in the center. It was a definite inspiration for what our new acquisition was to become.

Since Mom and Dad weren't going to be in town for a while, they ended up storing the mantel for us. I slowly started receiving text updates.

Would you like me to strip the paint off?

I might be able to get a coat of paint on it before we bring it to your place.

Suddenly, the mantel was being worked on and I was getting pictures. I am pretty sure she was having as much fun working on it as I would have.

Here she is using a heat gun to remove the old paint. The original paint job was chipping and needed to be completely redone. She tried stripper first, but the heat gun apparently worked best.

She was then able to scrap off the old paint with a metal putty knife. I wouldn't recommend a plastic one because it might melt.

When she really got going, she had taken off all of the original paint. In all, she said it took 16 hours! Never say I don't owe my mom!

She followed up with stainable wood putty, some sanding, and a coat of white paint. The next time I saw it was when their truck pulled into my driveway. It looked great already! There was still much to do to install it, though.

We brought it inside and set it where we wanted it. After giving it side glances overnight, Dad brought up the idea of adding a hearth to the bottom. This would both lift the mantel off the ground and away from the moulding, but also help complete framing around the interior portion (where the wood or fire would normally go).

Dad and Scott started with a simple frame with 2x4s.

Then they skinned it in some nicer plywood. We had purchased a 4x8 ft piece at Home Depot and ended up needing most of it for the entire project. Strips of it were cut to size to skin the hearth. They were then attached with wood glue and nails from our nail gun.

Dad scroll cut the sides from a template Mom drew to fit it against the moulding and we brought it in to take a look.

We thought it looked pretty good, so Mom and I put a couple of coats of white paint on it while the boys started work on the actual mantel itself.

First, they added about a 6 inch surround to the interior of the mantel. This would keep the wood pieces from being visually overwhelming and also help it feel more realistic. They did this using the same piece of plywood from earlier.

Then, they attached small pieces of 1x2 around the opening as spacers to set back the interior piece a little. This added some nice dimension to the over all look.

The interior was yet another piece of the plywood. I had painting it black before they installed it so it would be easier to work on later. When the structure was completed it looked like this.

Notice the stair stepping of the layers.

At this point, the mantel now weighed twice as much, but of course, we weren't done. We carried it inside and checked it in its place. We were chugging along nicely.

Spiffy

We brought it back outside and began working on the interior and finishing stages of the process. I painted the inside of the opening black to match the background. Then we were off to the woodpile.

Dad used this chainsaw and cut through a bunch of our branches that we have around for the fire pit. He eyeballed the size and was impressively accurate. For the smaller branches, he was able to set up a stop on our miter saw and get the same size every time.

While he cut, I began placing the pieces in the interior area of the mantel. After about 30 minutes, we had a very pleasing arrangement.

To attach all of the wood pieces, we had a very odd system (that worked really well!). Dad laid under the saw horses and I used a drill to drill a pilot hole from the top under each piece.

Then Mom came in and glued each piece down while Dad screwed in each log from the underneath so it didn't show. It looked a little something like this.

After about 20 minutes and my father being thoroughly covered in sawdust and glue, we were able to set the fireplace on end.

From behind, you can see alllllll the screws.

Of course, now that it was about 1,000 lbs, it was time to move it inside.

The hearth was first attached with L-brackets and anchors to the wall.

Then the mantel was attached using two screws with anchors as well.

It looked great! There was just one problem...

It was in the wrong place.

When this all began, I had measured the far wall to see if the two bookcases and the fireplace could all fit together. It seemed like the fireplace being centered would give that traditional vibe I was going for.

Unfortunately, numbers make fools of us all. I had measured and written down the wrong number. After living with the mantel on the side wall for a couple of days, my curiosity got the best of me and I remeasured. Sure enough, it would totally fit (with extra space) on the far wall.

I very sweetly told Scott that I had royally screwed up and he agreed to help me move it. The move, I must say, really helped cement this as one of my favorite house projects so far.

Much better!

What do you think, is it worth having an architectural piece if it doesn't work, or are fireplaces meant to be used, not just seen? I have to say, even though this guy will never heat our home, I'm already a big fan of how grand it makes the space feel. I can't wait to spook it up for Halloween and hang our stocking on it at Christmas!

PS-See the retro TV on the right? My Found TV Bourbon Bar Blog Post coming soon!

One if by land, Nine if by Spray Paint

When we got married, we did a lot of the wedding DIY. One thing we were really lucky on were some lanterns that we picked up from Pier 1 for only $3 each. They were metal, green, and had panes of glass in them to hold our centerpieces for the tables at the reception. Notice it holding the white flower in the bottom center of the picture below.

During our Father/Daughter dance. Photo taken by Ronda Sturdivant.

Not only were they perfect for the day, but we kept them afterward and now they adorn our backyard during the sunny months. Unfortunately, when I pulled them out this year, I could see the evidence of summers past.

They were a little worse for wear. They weren't rusted, just really sun-worn and dirty. Since metal lanterns this size are really in style now, I didn't want to replace them. That would have cost a fortune. Instead, I decided to just revamp the ones I had and make them like new again.

I started by taking them apart. The top wire and lids come completely off, so I washed them with dish washing soap. I let them dry really well while I worked on the next step.

Some of the lanterns had candles still stuck in them, so before I could really proceed, they had to be dewaxed. Here is a perfect example.

After an hour in the freezer, the candle shattered enough to come right out in chunks. Thankfully they were not all this bad. I think I would have run out of freezer space...

I was then able to do a first cleaning. I ran each one underwater with soap, rinsed, then put them back on the counter for the second big phase: taking out the glass.

The glass pieces were held in with little metal tabs that just needed to be carefully bent back. I only had to undo the top ones, as I was able to pull the glass straight up and out of the lanterns. There were four pieces per lantern (to keep candles from blowing out in the wind), so this task took a while.

Once all the glass was removed, the lanterns were rewashed. They weren't perfectly clean, but they were clean enough that the dirt and grime were gone from the outside, allowing the paint to stick. They were then allowed to dry.

The glass was all cleaned as well, then very carefully laid out to dry.

Once everything was a-okay, I was ready to paint. I decided on a bright yellow because it would really stand out against our very green backyard. I ended up using two cans of the Rustoleum with primer to get a nice even coat.

I began with them upside-down. I then flipped them right side up and got the top edge. I did not do the insides because I felt that the pattern didn't make that necessary. When you do see both colors, they just look like lemon lime.

When they were completed, I laid out the lids and painted their undersides first. After they dried, I flipped them over and sprayed the tops. Each side took two coats for good coverage. The wires were painted by hanging them from a string so I could do all the sides at once. They only took one awkward coat.

When they were completed, I brought everything inside for reassembly. Here is the inside of one that I'm getting ready to put a glass pane in. You can see how the inside is still green.

 

It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do for something. If you know me, you know that I'll spray paint just about anything, but these guys are probably my newest triumph.

Not only are they clean, but they are bright and cheery spots in our backyard.

I'll update with a night picture once our weather is nice enough to actually get one. Till then, I hope your outdoor projects are allowing you to enjoy your yards, too!

Adirondack Adventures

While walking through Beth's neighborhood a couple of months ago, some of the trash that had been put by the side of the road caught my eye. There were two Adirondack chairs, a little worse for wear but still in one piece, by the trashcans in front of one of the houses. I couldn't help myself. We grabbed them and threw them in Beth's truck. She dropped them off the next day and they sat in our garage for a while.

I have finally gotten around to finishing them and I have to say, they fit in nicely with our outdoor space. We first gave them a good once over with David's sander. We figured that because the paint was already chipping off, it would easily strip away, but we were surprised by how tough it was to get a smooth surface.

We did what we could, filling in holes and sanding down really rough areas. Once the tops had been sanded, you could even see that they used to be painted white before they were given a dark green color change.

The seat was also difficult to really get into with the sander because of the scoop. We managed to clean off most of the debris, but we would need a tiny little (yet powerful) sander to really get into the seat itself.

I think we used a sanding block just to finish it, but I'm not specifically sure. There was quite a flurry of sandpaper, sawdust, and paint chips flying around while we worked.

Believe it or not, this is actually where we stopped. It doesn't look completely stripped because it wasn't. We felt that the adhesion of the paint that had remained was good enough that covering it with a paint-and-primer-in-one would do the job.

Before painting anything, we were sure to examine all of the screws that held it together, tightening them where we could. One of the arms needed a little extra support, so Scott screwed a small block of wood underneath to shore it up.

It was finally time to paint. I wanted them to match the two plastic Adirondack chairs that we already had around the fire pit, so I chose a color that felt close to them. I have found that when it comes to spray paint, you can't beat the new Valspar line at Lowes. They have a nice selection of colors and paints for different areas of the house, both inside and out.

I started with two cans thinking that two coats would be enough. I was wrong. One can barely covered one coat.

It's kind of hard to tell in the photo, but it didn't saturate as well as a paint and primer usually do. The wood was so worn that there were distinct guttered streaks that followed the grain. Covering those took 4 cans per chair overall. Here is a better example of the texturing issue I'm referring to.

After the fourth can of spray paint ran dry, though, the coverage was much better. Once they were ready, we moved them out to the fire pit. They fit right in. The colors matched even better than I could have imagined!

The fire pit feel so nice and established now (except for, you know, the actual pit itself. We're hoping to build in a permanent one so it's not so sad).

We have already used them once and it was cozy. We can't wait for Fall so we can sit around the fire and drink pumpkin beer while roasting our marshmallows. The only question is who wants to sit in the plastic and who wants to sit in the wood!

Lamp it up, Fuzzball!

First off, check this action out

Over 10,000 page views! Huzzah! Thanks for being awesome readers (and only a couple people I bribe).

Today's tutorial is short but really cool to make and you can knock out a bunch this week and enjoy them this weekend. Check it out.

Cool wine bottle tiki torches! We originally found the tutorial on Design Sponge (which if you have never been to, you should totally check it out). The tutorial is really great, so I recommend using it because it is slightly more detailed then ours, but if you want the gist of what it tells you to do, here it is.

This is the mount for the wine bottle.

And these are the pieces that created it.

(Below is a much easier to read and copy/paste list of items you're looking for! The pictures were just fun)

For the bottle itself, these are the parts you'll need.

Your quick copy/paste purchase list looks a little something like this. It includes the break down on cost for us to make four at once with prices from Home Depot (just because that's the hardware store that's closest to us). Cost doesn't include your choice in fine wine:

1. Empty Wine Bottle (4 needed: $ one liver)

2. Teflon Tape 1/2” =$0 (already had)

3. Copper Top Plate Connector (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)= $1.94 each

4. 1” Split Ring Hanger (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)= $1.68

5. 1/2” x 3/8” Copper Coupling=$1.50 each

6. 1/2” Copper Cap=$0.68 each

7. Two Hex Nuts (threaded for 3/8”-16 thread rod)= $2.70 for 25 pc.

8. Two #10 x 1” Zinc Plated Wood Screws (if your mounting it to wood)= $0 (already had)

9. 3/8”-16 Zinc Plated Threaded Rod (I bought a 3’ rod and cut it down to 8, 4-1/2” with a dremel or cut off tool.)= $1.97 per rod

10. Tiki Replacement Wick=  $2.96 for 2

11. Torch Fuel (For safety reasons, only use fuel made specifically for outdoor torches. i.e. Tiki brand)=$0 (already had. Ended up buying more, though. A larger container is about $10-$13. This cost is also not included in the final cost)

=$33.79 for four

Once we had purchased all of our pieces, we came home and put them together. This took all of about 3 minutes.

For the bottles, make sure they are dry and clean on the inside. Take the copper coupling and wrap the fat side with enough tephlon tape so it doesn't fall into the bottle neck. Then just fill the bottle with your tiki torch oil and place the wick inside the coupling, placing the coupling and wick on/in the bottle last.

I would recommend mounting the mount itself first to wherever you are going to put these. Then take the wick and coupling out of the bottle and mount the bottle to the split ring hanger, THEN put the coupling and wick back in the bottle. This will keep things from getting shifted around or the wick from falling into the wine bottle.

Let the wick soak up some of the tiki fuel and then light. Make sure to not have any on your hands because I am not responsible for the loss of fingerprints or, ya know, hands...

They are really cool and they are great to have around our fire pit because they help light up the area just a little more. The tiki torch fuel also has citronella in it, so it keeps the bugs at bay while we roast our marshmallows. You can see the lamps we made in the picture I put up last week, mounted to the hammock supports.

Yeah, there is one missing here. Oops!

Hopefully this tutorial combined with the other much better one will help you knock these out. Scott wants to replace the wine bottles with bourbon bottles because he thinks it's classier. I'm not completely sure about that, but they do lend themselves to many different types of bottles, so you can switch them out anytime you want.

One more time.

Hopefully you'll be able to make some of these and enjoy them this week. We hope everyone had a fun Easter! He has Risen, yo!