Considering it took me 25 years to remove something that I didn’t like in my home, the fact that it took me a few months to complete the new hearth is like… a blink of an eye.
It all began one Sunday morning when the desire to remove the brick hearth around my fireplace, moved me into action.
I don’t know for sure, but I think demolition is my best side!
Two sledge hammers, two railroad spikes, my son and I removed about 75 bricks via several trips to the back yard. Jake and I had it all clean up, spic and span before Mr. Rust returned home from shuttle driving at the church.
When he left it look like this and then it looked like this…
Then for a few months, while we repainted the walls and added board and batten, it looked like this…
And now it looks…
DONE!
WOOOHOOO!
We used 12 x 12 raw slate tiles from Home Depot. Mr. Rust and I sifted through stacks and stacks of broken boxes of slate to find 14 good tiles. Once complete we were able to take back the extra tile. Total cost of this redo…about $45 when all was said and done.
This goes into to the books as one of my favorite projects of 2011. I’ve never once regretted tearing the hearth out and now that the tile is laid, I can move on to my next adventure.
I’ll give you a hint…It will be old, made of iron, ornate and rusty!
Any guesses?
Now…
have you entered my coffee giveaway?
There is still time!
peace. love. rust.
Rustique Art 
Wow Cindy, I was thinking what? then the whoooooooooooo, awesome. I love it. Great job.
Oh, it’s beautiful Cindy…and such a great price tag too. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I am beyond impressed – you are a bundle of home remodeling energy! Nice job on the slate hearth – it looks wonderful. I am just so impressed 🙂
This turned out great! I am wanting to do this in my living room. Question… Was it difficult to keep from damaging the bricks left in place below the fireplace? Did you use a certain technique to make sure you protected them? Thanks!