Mason Recommendations for Chimney Facelift
Sadly, our chimney has been painted, and after several failed stripping incidents, we have become intrigued by the idea of actually refacing the entire chimney. The March 2004 Sunset issue had a great, inspiring article on faux stone veneers, which seems like a perfect solution to our chimney dilemma. In the process, we were thinking of raising the opening and adding a bench and a mantel. Can anyone in the south bay area recommend a mason? Also, we would love to hear from anyone who has done a similar remodel of their Eichler chimney? Please send recommendations directly to me at tcrevierATyahooDOTcom
Thanks,
Tom
Before you take a look at refacing, try using a good, $90 grinder (we have a Bosch) and stripping pads. We had success removing the paint from our chimney. It will take a number of stipping pads that look like a stiff sponge. It will take off a lot, but not all of the paint. The surface paint comes right off, but the dimples wiill hold specks of paint. You may like the results and people have commented on how nice ours looks now.
That's good for the face of the cinderblocks, but you will probably need to chisel out the grout and have it tuck pointed. Same grinder works again to clean out the old morter. We used a circular saw with a diamond blade to do the heavy work and cleaned out the rest with the grinder and a masonry grinding wheel. Finish off the corners with a cold chisel. We just had ours tuck pointed and it looks cherry. Please e-mail me at staceyATimpureactsDOTcom for contact info on this mason, recommended by JC of Renman's crew.
Now just to be clear, grinding will make a huge mess. You must wear goggles, a full-respirator, ear protection, and I suggest a hair covering of sorts. You, and everything in the close proximity, will be covered in fine stone powder. Tape off your immediate area to contain the mess.
If you're looking for an inexpensive and quick fix, you might want to try
this approach. Our living room has 3 different wall surfaces, cinderblock, grass cloth and siding. While it's an interesting effect, I thought it was 3 too many elements. I resurfaced our chimney wall (which was cinderblock) with stucco, then gave it a smooth finish by sanding it. I bought a contemporary floating shelf in mahogany from Pottery Barn. The overall effect is wonderful and in keeping with the Eichler design. Best of all, it was very inexpensive.
Good luck!
Kate
Kate,
what you did, sounds like what I want to do. Do you have any pictures of what it looks like? Please respond here or email me at
[email protected]
thanks
Hi,
We were given your ad by a customer who owns an Eichler and who has contacted us to reface their fireplace. We are limestone fabricator, meaning we fabricate limestone fireplaces and reface brick fireplaces with natural stones. I am enclosing a picture of an Eichler fireplace we refaced in Vermont slate. We can also recommend you with a mason if you still need one. We can be contacted at (650) 968-1770. [/img]
Kate,
Our brick fireplace is painted with several layers of stark white paint and I would like to add texture and some earthy color to it. Stuccoing sounds like the way to go but I don't know how to prep the painted brick first.
Was your fireplace painted? Did you do stucco the fireplace yourself? I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to proceed. Also, do you have pictures you could share? You can email me at petrapless at earthlink dot net. Thank you!
Petra
