MikeBuildsThings: Fellowship of the Fireplace of the Return of the King of the Hebrew Handymen

Our three bedroom neo-colonial was built in 1950 as a 'Levittown Ranch': two bedroom cape, on a concrete slab, detached garage. The original foundation has slab heating (i.e., one zone consists of copper pipes embedded in the slab), which leak in various places. In 1969, the previous owner added a second story. It's not clear if the single-store extensions to the kitchen and den were added at the same time as the second story - though both extensions are also on concrete slabs, albeit without slab heating. The combined effect of the slab foundation, and north-facing kitchen and den extensions result in the first floor being essentially uninhabitable in the bitter winder months (Jan/Feb). If we turn on the two heating zones on the first floor full blast, it eventually warms up, but the boiler runs without pause (i.e. we can watch the heating bill tick up by the second). So, when winter sets in, we become second floor hermits, other than coming downstairs for breakfast. Dinners almost without exception are upstairs, in bed, using a towel as a "placemat".

With various run-ups in heating oil over the years, we looked into getting natural gas, but running a line to our house wasn't financially viable. A few years ago, three houses on our left (original two bedroom capes) became "knockdown" McMansion spec houses, and gas service was now available to us (not that anyone asked!).

A few winters ago was really miserable - much colder than usual, and I (we ?) decided it made sense to get a gas fireplace for the first floor, which we (I ?) hoped would enable enjoying the space (den, TV room, dinners, etc), and maybe even entertaining more during the cold season.

This coincided with repeated occurrences of flooding in the back of the house, primarily the den extension - resulting from the the backyard sloping toward the house, and repeated failed attempts at drainage. The drainage system(s) would work OK most of the time, but then a torrential storm came, and we'd have another ruined carpet, or laminate floor in the den. Multiple attempts to shop vacuum water out of the carpeting, then shampoo machine, didn't help. Tearing up the water-logged carpeting from the last flooding, we decided the next flooring in the den would be tile - much easier to deal with, in the likely event of future flooding.

In addition to the flooding problem, the north facing kitchen extension roof was very low pitched, and recurring ice dams resulted in replacing the entire roof system (~1992) including joists - yet ice dams continued to be a problem, with resulting roofing rot, and leaks, and significant water damage/mold in one corner of the kitchen.

Overall scope of the project:

dealing with the (massive) roof leaks.
install new floor
install gas service line from gas meter (side of the house) to the location of the fireplace (particularly challenging due to concrete slab).
construction of fireplace platform, venting, electrical, drywall, wallpaper, etc etc etc.
two mantel surrounds (see through fireplace, as shown in the pic) and hearth.

This project has become my "white whale": I'd promised Amy it would be ready to use the winter of 2014/15 (this is being written June 2016). The fireplace unit was purchased October 2014, and demolition of the den closet (location of the fireplace to be installed) began that Thanksgiving. At this point, an incredible amount of work has been completed.

Pic taken after Thanksgiving 2014: demolition, installation of new header, rough framing for
fireplace venting and platform, and electrical.

Pending items:

Building permit.
Fabricate & install mantel(s) and surround(s) - 'see-through fireplace', so two of these
are needed, and I'm doing different design on each side ... just to make it more interesting :-)
Set up the fireplace itself, including converting the propane unit purchased to natural gas, install ceramics log set, remote control, and auxiliary fan. I'll probably hire a professional fireplace guy for this - tho' I'm confident I could do it myself ... would just take me muuuuuchhh longer!

So - much closer to the end than the beginning - but at this point, ~ 18 months (and counting) later than committed to my "better half".

Along the way I lined up estimates for the roof and flooring - yet decided to do the work myself. I'm reasonably certain these decisions were not always in the best interest of marital harmony - yet the outcome of virtually all the work I've done has been, as I call it, a "pro job" (though these days, that doesn't always mean that much...)
.
I'll follow and post pics of the sub-projects

Den Floor - winter 2015 (some pics previously posted)

18 inch porcelain tiles were installed with 'medium set' mortar ( *crazy* hard to mix ),
an effective solution for the sloping floor (about an inch difference in height) - this type
of mortar can be installed up to an inch thick.

Removed ~200 square feet of existing mastic (black-tar-adhesive ... essentially sticky
kryptonite!) from the concrete floor using a 7-inch disc grinder and specialized diamond
-encrusted tool 'Diamabrush' and DIY dust shroud made from a two gallon plastic bucket
and PVC shower drain.

Roof - summer 2015

Removed existing roof, had *four* layers of shingles (building code permits up to three!)
Installed fireplace venting (vertical vent, through the roof).
Reworked valley, installed ice/water shield membrane ...had to do this twice :-(
45x45 skylight had to be removed, disassembled, damaged copper flashing repaired
(nail holes where they weren't supposed to be) and reinstalled. *Crazy* heavy to move
by myself.

Interior remodeling - Thanksgiving 2015