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Chimney boxing

It turns out that a year ago the fireplace was installed and fired up for the first time so we really need to get something done about a chimney. After a lot of thinking about how to build it we’ve ended up with this design-

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Fireplace from the living room side
Screen Shot 2011-12-06 at 12.56.45 PM
and from the kitchen side

We’re going to build the lower section as part of the bookcase/dividers that separate the kitchen from the living room, so that means a beadboard end panel and Beech trimmed mantel and hearth. To bring in the floor tiles we’ll be surrounding the fire with about 6” wide cut tiles and making the hearth with more of the same. The upper chimney will be drywall and painted the same light green as the main walls, with some niches embedded in the kitchens side where you’ll note a lack of the wide mantel shelf seen on the living room side. That’s a side effect of the combination of a big vent pipe and the horizontal beam above the fire. Pipe has to go one side or the other and that forces the chimney to be asymmetric. The niches will counteract the otherwise plain expanse of the chimney face and provide some interesting spots to show of more of Bridget’s collection of pottery.
Right now the frame is in place and covered in cardboard to give us a good idea of the massing and light blocking it will cause -
IMG_0076
Cardboard chimney! Strictly temporary

It makes a huge difference to the feel of both rooms, the light patterns and even the acoustics. Looks like it should get drywalled in a couple of weeks.