Despite the conspiracy of fate to keep me from my goal, I installed the new brushed nickel fireplace doors. As I noted earlier, the opening in the brick was too short for even the "small" model frame. This resulted in the swinging screen doors rubbing against the brick preventing proper installation. I was going to request some fireplace contractor bids but for some reason my request to ServiceMagic.com didn't go through. So instead, I decided to try my hand at masonry. Or at least masonry demolition.
On my way home Friday night, I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a brick cutter chisel and a pair of safety glasses. A few well-placed whacks and bits of brick and dust were flying everywhere. Eventually, I got enough brick removed on each side for the doors to swing freely. Yea! Now I'll just hook up the frame to the brick with the included brackets and I'm all good. Easy, right?
No.
The connectors on the frame is supposed to be even at some point with the lintel bar (a metal "L" shaped piece along the top of the opening). But because the opening was too short, the connector was well below the connection points. I could have cut the brick and made the opening big enough to fit. But that would have taken an awful lot of hacking. I would have had to remove at least 3/4 to 1 full brick all the way across the top of the opening. And then, I'd have to reinstall the lintel bar across the top. That much chiseling would take an awful lot to repair if I did something amiss. So what to do?
Well, dammit, I'm an American. Overcome and conquer. Improvise. I ran back to Home Depot and picked up a couple of punched metal plumbing connectors. The metal I was looking for had to be flexible enough for me to shape it into the right configuration and yet hard enough to retain it's shape once in place. The connectors were perfect. I also got four 6mm bolts and wingnuts to hook the contraption up.
Back at home, I worked the metal into a double bend that would run from the frame connection at the top and down into the hole where the stock brackets connected to the bricks. I spray pained the treated aluminum with heat resistant black paint -- the kind you use to repaint a grill or some such -- and after donning the baseball cap bill lights I bought for Kerry for when she runs (which she never has used), I set upon getting the thing bolted together and bracketed in place.
This required me to lay thought the frame opening on top of the lower metal part of the frame leaving some interesting marks across my back. After some adjusting and readjusting and more than a couple of hand cramps, I got her installed. And it don't look bad. The top isn't perfectly flush with the wall but neither was the original. It's pretty close, looks good and it's secure so that's what's really important.
I'd like to make a fire inside and see how it all looks but I really don't want to have to shovel out the ash again.
On my way home Friday night, I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a brick cutter chisel and a pair of safety glasses. A few well-placed whacks and bits of brick and dust were flying everywhere. Eventually, I got enough brick removed on each side for the doors to swing freely. Yea! Now I'll just hook up the frame to the brick with the included brackets and I'm all good. Easy, right?
No.
The connectors on the frame is supposed to be even at some point with the lintel bar (a metal "L" shaped piece along the top of the opening). But because the opening was too short, the connector was well below the connection points. I could have cut the brick and made the opening big enough to fit. But that would have taken an awful lot of hacking. I would have had to remove at least 3/4 to 1 full brick all the way across the top of the opening. And then, I'd have to reinstall the lintel bar across the top. That much chiseling would take an awful lot to repair if I did something amiss. So what to do?
Well, dammit, I'm an American. Overcome and conquer. Improvise. I ran back to Home Depot and picked up a couple of punched metal plumbing connectors. The metal I was looking for had to be flexible enough for me to shape it into the right configuration and yet hard enough to retain it's shape once in place. The connectors were perfect. I also got four 6mm bolts and wingnuts to hook the contraption up.
Back at home, I worked the metal into a double bend that would run from the frame connection at the top and down into the hole where the stock brackets connected to the bricks. I spray pained the treated aluminum with heat resistant black paint -- the kind you use to repaint a grill or some such -- and after donning the baseball cap bill lights I bought for Kerry for when she runs (which she never has used), I set upon getting the thing bolted together and bracketed in place.
This required me to lay thought the frame opening on top of the lower metal part of the frame leaving some interesting marks across my back. After some adjusting and readjusting and more than a couple of hand cramps, I got her installed. And it don't look bad. The top isn't perfectly flush with the wall but neither was the original. It's pretty close, looks good and it's secure so that's what's really important.
I'd like to make a fire inside and see how it all looks but I really don't want to have to shovel out the ash again.
BTW: the installation was completed Saturday afternoon (3-31-07) but I didn't post this until Monday night because I wanted Kerry to be surprised when she got home Monday afternoon.
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