Fireplace cheap tile to stone

  My wife Kelly and I did not appreciate the existing tile fireplace surround. Gray blah tile...all the fashion in the late eighties You can see the wonderful before shot pictured to the right. Not much tile to replace so lets do it we thought. I got busy in the demolition mode and took out the old depressing gray tile and were ready for the new. This is where the quick little project turn into a year and a half long quest.  Ah yes...indecision...We decided at first to keep it simple and elegant...black marble tile. Of coarse, after endlessly searching for the best pricing in town and getting a sample, we began second guessing ourselves. We both hated the black marble. After that we moved on to stacked stone unfortunately we were not able to find the right coloring there either.
Next we agreed on a standard 16" travertine tile.
After all it was stone and reasonably priced
Because of our famous indecision when it comes to our own home porjects,
we decided to go all in and purchase not just a sample but all the tile for the job. We will surely not back out now.  Wrong!

Once we got the tile home, we had to lay it out and let it sink in for a few days before we made it a final decision. Unfortunately our indecision took over again. We let the fireplace sit without tile for another six months until we finally found what would be our final choice. What did we choose. A year and a half later... Read on.

The beginning, taking out the old...Sept 2010

 Finally finding the agreed upon tile, an inch and a half thick travertine French pattern tile. The color is a warm light brown similar to a darker Austin stone.

Deciding on the layout... Note one of our samples of staked stone on the left of the fireplace.

 Trial and error...

 Cutting and laying in place...

I had to remove the surround base to fit it the extra thick travertine.

 Nearly done with the base.

Cutting the frame pieces...

Here, all of the side pieces are place and I am starting the tedious top pieces that need to be held in place while drying over-night.

 The last piece has to fit just right.

 Using premixed thin set to allow for repeated use. This is a bit more expensive but allows for much more freedom when it comes to the timeline. Standard thin-set will harden quickly and what is not used is wasted.

 The final piece is in place and setting. The surround base pieces are cut down to fit and are nailed back in place.

 The tile is in now we are ready for the new trim.

 New trim is in. I need to filling the nail holes chalk and match the paint to the rest of the hearth paint.

Final shot yet to come...

 The next photo shows the tile with the
sealer/enhancer applied.  This brings out the
rich colors in the stone.

 Finally complete!  The new trim at the edge of the stone is caulked and painted to match.  Now we are ready for Christmas.

"The Cart Before the Horse"

Ok so I jumped the gun with some of my previous posts. The question some might be asking is, "what the heck is "The Handymen"? The short answer to that question... a co-worker of mine and I have partnered to create a new handyman, hence the name, service. We both were doing lots of jobs of our own and other jobs on the side, so we decided to, like "the Wonder Twins" combine powers to form something better. What is our goal? "The Moon Alice the Moon". The real answer... we are starting off working small handyman jobs, replacing doors, light fixtures, door hardware, faucets, toilets, etc. Tile work is something we've had plenty of experience with as well. Is the job outdoors? This is not a problem. We do landscaping projects as well. Not sure if it is something we will do, give us a call.  (832-644-6564) Nice number isn't it?

Another aspect of our company is real estate management.  Are you leaving on vacation or moving and the house is not sold and need things covered back at home? Let us help keep things in shape.

Are you selling your house and know something might need to be done to spruce things up a bit but aren't sure what?  We can help.  Many times small little changes can get that house sold. I have moved around the country plenty and sold a house in tough times. I know what sells.

When Kelly, my wife, and I moved here we looked at a lot of houses. It amazed me the simple things people didn't do to help prep their home for sale. It happened so often that I began thinking about starting this handyman service at that point. Sometimes it may be something as simple as straightening and decluttering the house.

So why am I creating this blog? It is a way for us to show some of our abilities and allow us to share with others some of the trials and tribulations that come with what seem to be simple projects.

Well, Kelly is telling me that I am writing like I talk, endlessly, so time to go for now.  Keep checking back for project updates and more... Frank

The Handymen beginning

Hello all,

We are creating this blog to showcase some of the projects "The Handymen" have been working. Feel free to peruse the site.  We are new to blogging so be patient with us.  We hope you enjoy.

The Handymen what's new

Hello all,

We are creating this new blog site to showcase some of the jobs that "The Handymen" have worked or are currently working.  If you are just viewing for ideas or checking out our work, we hope you enjoy. Below is a series of photos showing a quick change out of a kitchen faucet. 

Before pic

During

After photo shown above. The old faucet had a chrome finish with dual handle water controls. The new faucet has a brushed nickel finish with a single handle control and main head pull out sprayer.  The original sprayer hole has been used as a brushed nickel built-in soap dispenser.