An Epic Stone Fireplace Makeover

I have an epic stone fireplace makeover to share with you. The fireplace makeover to end all makeovers. Nothing will top this.

If you can’t tell, the whole reason I have a blog is to be able to make ridiculous declarations. Haha!

But this stone fireplace makeover IS really, really good.

As is the running theme with this fixer upper of ours, most of our makeovers involve removing the unnecessary layers to reveal the beauty underneath.

The unnecessary layer in this story is the two inches of lime mortar that was skimmed over the fireplace. Eventually, given enough time and exposure, the lime mortar will start to flake off the walls, which was what had started to happen here.

Here’s how the stone fireplace looked right before we took a hammer to it. Yes, a hammer. It was a bit savage.

This fireplace is located in our Carriage House and we are converting this particular room into a home gym.

FYI, the only heat that will be generated in this room is body heat from weightlifting. The fireplace is not currently functioning. It looks pretty great though. Or it will by the end of this blog post.

We, on the other hand, might need a little more time than the two minutes it takes to read this post to get into “pretty great shape.” The human struggle is real.

The fireplace looked like this after the outer layer of lime mortar was removed.

That first skim layer of mortar removal was not enough. No, no. We had to dig deep, people.

To repoint stones, you have to take the old mortar back about an inch around each and every stone.

How many stones comprise the front of this fireplace?

I stopped counting at 72 stones (squirrel brain!), but easily 200 stones make up the front facing wall of this fireplace. It is 9-ft wide and 8.5-ft tall.

Here’s how it looked after we removed the pointing above the mantel.

The bottom was another story.

Someone skimmed the bottom left part of the fireplace in concrete.

*looks around guiltily*

It took 4.5 hours with the chisel attachment on the hammer drill to remove that concrete.

Do you know how bad your arms vibrate after 4.5 hours of chiseling with a hammer drill? Handy Husband knows.

Our choices eventually catch up to us.

But now that we know better (concrete is not good for old stones), we can do better.

So, here’s to a fresh start!

By fresh start, I mean, someone got to repoint those stones with lime mortar.

Me. That someone was me.

I’m the only pretend mason in this family.

This looks fun, right?

How about this?

As my dad used to say, “Are we having fun yet?

He never asked that when actual fun was being had.

I’m not sure I’d call it fun, but below is the face of a tired, sweaty, frizzy-haired person who is happy to have made progress.

I’ve decided that the key to making it through a seemingly never-ending tedious project is to not think too hard about how much you still have to do or how your choices (hello, first hammer to the wall) have caught up to you.

If you do, you’ll start crying and those tears will make your mortar too runny.

If I was a motivational speaker, I’d tell you to find your joy.

But I’m not.

So I’ll tell you to find your autopilot setting and a good music playlist instead.

Here’s how the stone fireplace looked after all five million of the stones had been repointed.

That’s pretty great, right?

Quite the transformation.

But wait.

We’re not done.

There’s still the mantel to be addressed.

I did promise you an epic stone fireplace makeover, after all.

Um.

How do I say this delicately?

Stripping the paint off the mantel was maddening.

What personality type do you need to have to enjoy stripping paint off wood?

Whatever it is, I don’t have it.

Also, word to the wise. Don’t paint a rough cut surface. The nooks have their own crannies and paint will be in places you didn’t think paint could go. You don’t want that kind of bad karma in your life. It will catch up to you somewhere, somehow.

Feel free to cue up the “Hallelujah Chorus” because five lifetimes later, the mantel looked like this.

Can you believe it?

As a reminder, this is how the fireplace started.

After conditioning the wood because it needed it, here’s how the stone fireplace looks now.

Hello, lover.

And NOW we’re done.

How’s that for an epic stone fireplace makeover?

Did I deliver?

Isn’t it amazing what was hiding under all of those layers just waiting for its moment to shine?

Speaking of hiding under layers, the floor is next on the list to tackle. You’ll have to come back to see that transformation.

Have you ever taken on a fireplace project? Do you have to find your autopilot setting during long projects too? Let me know! Please leave a comment on this blog post, email us here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.

Happy DIYing!

Thanks for being here today! Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy. 

Carriage House Interior Makeover Reveal

Black Metal Roof for the Carriage House

Carriage House Gets Painted!