Fireplace shopping

Now that we know that our fireplaces are inoperable in their current state, and that we need new inserts for sure (and possibly a new chimney), we decided to go shopping for gas inserts.  We went to two fireplace stores and looked at these vintage gas fireplaces because they most closely resemble the 1890s fireplaces we have.

It seemed like a good idea except in person I hated these fireplaces.  When standing in front of them, they looked like toy fireplaces. The other part that bothered me were the fake coals or fake logs that were inside of them. The actual part of the fireplace where the flame is at is about 12" wide, so that meant the imitation logs were only about 8" wide.  Needless to say, I thought it definitely looked like a fake fireplace.

So we started thinking, since we are already tearing out the surround in order to rebuild some of the chimney, why don't we just expand the opening to fit a larger fireplace. Yes, we'd be losing the vintage feel of it, however, I think we'd get more use out of a larger fireplace like the one below. 

windows order...plus more change orders

Originally, the plan was to repair whatever windows we were able to and only purchase new windows for the locations where windows didn't already exist. Our existing windows would need to be repaired because they are original to the home, therefore, they are single pane, and in the winter they let a ton of cold air in, and rattle like crazy in the wind. We realized that it was going to cost too much money to repair our current windows to a point where they would be energy efficient, so we decided it would be best to get all brand new windows especially since all the walls were open, and it would be harder to replace later on. Additionally, if we are now opening up all of the walls and replacing all of the windows, we might as well spray foam insulate from the inside.  There goes another change order :/

We began researching a few different brands because we needed a company and window line that could make large custom windows. A few of our windows are 54 in x 81 in and not many window manufactures can make them that size. We decided to go with Pella Architect series because we thought the profile of the window resembled our current windows the best and because they could custom make our extra large windows.  

Of course the choices didn't end there. After selecting the brand and line, we needed to decide on color for the inside frame, outside frame and for the hardware. We went back and forth on various window options, but in the end we wound up deciding on Bright White interior with Classic White exterior, full sized InView screens with oil-rubbed bronze hardware.  Something like this (except the hardware is darker in person):

We learned that we have 51 windows in our house (!), but since we will only be replacing the windows on the first and second floor right now, our final count dropped down to a mere 38 for the order :)

The sooner we get the windows installed, the sooner walls can get closed up!  They take 4-6 weeks to come in, so we order at the end of October to keep us on schedule.

I got 99 Problems, and the Fireplace IS one!

We had a fireplace technician come out and take a look at our two fireplaces to let us know what was needed to make both fireplaces operable. The guy didn't have good news for us.  In fact, he had really horrible news for us.  Our fireplaces are basically fire hazards and need to be replaced.  However that wasn't the bad news since we kinda figured as much.  The bad news was that our entire chimney was in horrible shape and would need to be rebuilt from the basement to the roof.  One big problem with that is that according to code, your chimney needs to be 2 feet above the highest part of your roof. SAY WHAAAT?!?!?!. Our roof is so pitched it makes a black diamond ski slope look tame.  So of course, to rebuild a chimney of that magnitude it would cost a fortune...like one year's tuition at an out of state college fortune. 

We were told, however, that if we went with a gas-only fireplace then we wouldn't need to rebuild the chimney and it would knock off A LOT of money.  Looks like gas it is!

As you can see, it looks like the chimney was repaired at some point over the years.  Even with the addition to the chimney shown here, the chimney does not clear the top of the roof (picture is at a weird angle).  Imagine adding about 2 more feet to it!  The chimney would be pretty ridiculous looking.

Fireplaces

This is the fireplace in the parlor/living room

Here it is with the mantel pulled off and the insert taken out.

Here is a shot taken from inside the fireplace looking up the chimney

This is the fireplace in the master bedroom

Here it is with the insert pulled out

I suppose this was proof that they were considered hazardous. Inserts were needed because they were built without using fire brick.

Shot from inside looking up the chimney from second floor

Footings

Now that we were able to raise the floors 1.5 inches, we needed to install new columns. However, prior to installing new columns we needed to create larger footers to support these columns. The previous footers were only 12 inch X 12 inch and they started to give way when we started to raise the floor. 

Cut holes and poured concrete to create new footers

New Support Columns

Raise the roof...or floor

The crew tore up all of our existing hardwoods on the first and second floor (again, it was completely necessary and we could not salvage them).  We had anticipated that we would need to level the floor prior to installing new floors, however, we did NOT think the floors were 2.25 inches out of level. We brought in a structural engineer who determined that the middle of the house sunk due to the staircase.  He recommended raising the middle of the floor in it's entirety. The previous owners had installed three I-beams in the basement however they didn't care enough to actually level the floors prior to installing them.  So the engineer said the floors would be able to be raised by utilizing these beams.  

The crew used hydraulics and slowly started cranking the floor up.  The floor had been uneven by 2.25" and with lifting the floor they were able to move it up by 1.5 inches.  The rest of the deficit can definitely be made up in the subfloor.

The red laser is where the floor needs to be raised to

Kitchen with just sub flooring 

Kitchen view from Mudroom

Master Bedroom on 2nd Floor

2nd Floor Hallway

Basement - Raising the Floor

Basement - Raising the Floor