Do You 'Heart' the New Hearth?

Scott continued to cross things off the "to do" list this weekend, beginning with the great room fireplace hearth. Let's see how it turned out, shall we?

First, many tools made their way to the great room. Scott's main concern was that the concrete floor to which the tile would be adhered was not exactly level. We spent a little time (Scott with the belt sander, me with the shop vac) smoothing out some lumpy areas.

It felt like old times, mixing mortar in the ol' bucket.

 Applying the first bit of mortar . . . 

 . . . then spreading it with a steel angle to even-out the high and low areas.

"Schluter Strips" were put in next to help with the transition from tile to wood flooring.

While I pulled weeds for an hour (to avoid watching the quick disintegration of the Nebraska football team during their loss to UCLA), Scott mortared the tile in place. There were quite a few pieces that had to be cut to fit the back and east edges.

These small tiles were easy to deal with, and were trimmed to size quickly with the tile saw.

The finished project - well, finished except for grout - which Scott plans on doing Monday evening.

The 2x4 subway-style mosaic tile is from the same family of tile (Crossville Buenos Aries Mood in "La Boca") used in the master bathroom. It's caramel-y color matches beautifully with the limestone inset on the fireplace. Great job, Scott!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!