Old Town Bungalow's Fireplace Adventure 12/29-30/10

After purchasing our Moab 1916 Craftsman Bungalow, Joe and I had two glaring issues to settle as a result of the previous owner’s remuddled projects. The first unmuddling project on our list was to strip paint off the Douglas fir wainscoting in the dining room. It was a painstakingly hard job reviving the beautiful wood wainscoting which was completed the summer of 2010. The second unmuddling project on our list was to tear down the drywall covering the fireplace in the living room.

Wednesday was the start of our Old Town Bungalow fireplace adventure. Clark, our handyman, came armed with his sawzall and circular saw and began the process of liberating OTB's fireplace which was buried behind drywall.

The process of cutting through the drywall with the sawzall was painstakingly slow, so Clark got out the big gun. He began cutting the drywall with his circular saw much like a surgeon performing delicate open heart surgery. The circular saw produced so much dust it was like we were in the middle of some kind of 1950’s atomic bomb blast.


While Clark was sawing and prying the drywall, I was reminded of Geraldo Rivera uncovering Al Capone’s secret vault. Do y’all remember when Geraldo hosted on live television the Mystery of Al Capone's Vault back in April of 1986? We all sat around the television set mesmerized watching Geraldo and his monster mustache wind through Al Capone’s hidden labyrinth below the Lexington Hotel in Chicago in search of Capone’s secret vault which was rumored to have contained some of his wealth. Geraldo even had a medical examiner and IRS agents in tow. We were so sucked in by Geraldo that no one dared to leave the room even for a potty break fearing you might miss the greatest unveiling of the century. Those of us who were lucky enough to have watched the broadcast live remember the outcome. For those of you who weren’t born yet or didn’t tune into the show, this is how the story ended. After two hours of waiting for great riches or dead bodies to be discovered on live television, the vault was finally opened only to discover empty bottles. The best story Geraldo could muster up for all of us poor saps was the empty bottles once contained moonshine. Wow, the disappointment we all felt! Do y'all remember how stupid Geraldo looked?!!!!

As Joe and I stood watching Clark cut through the drywall I can only imagine that we looked much like Chef watching his dog food being scooped out of the dog food bin. His eyes glaze over, his ears perk up high on the top of his head listening to every morsel of dog food drop from the measuring cup into the bottom of his stainless bowl, and his drool stalactites becoming longer and longer with the pinging sound of each and every morsel of dog food being dumped into his bowl.


After the cuts in the drywall were made and the dust settled, Clark pried the drywall off of the studs to reveal what was behind the remuddled fireplace. Well, the unveiling of the fireplace played out much like Geraldo’s Mystery of Al Capone's Vault. Joe and I stood there watching with anxious anticipation. Once all the drywall was removed we felt like we had been duped much like the millions of television viewers (myself included) across the country watching the opening of Al Capone’s vault 24+ years ago. There was not a word spoken. We all stood there in total disbelief looking at bricks laid much like a game of 52 card pickup. Clark removed three bricks, so we could look inside the fireplace. The evidence of burnt ashes meant there had been a fire. Fearing the entire “fireplace” would come crumbling down if any more bricks were chiseled out in order to investigate any further, we stopped at that point. Honestly, I really thought Joe was going to tell Clark to get some drywall and patch the wall.


We were very disappointed. I refused be a part of re-remuddling OTB’s fireplace, so I got on the Internet searching with the tenacity of a bulldog and I suppose with the stubbornness of a mule (or a jacka$$ Joe would say) for some kind of a solution. I went on one of the gas fireplace insert company’s website to read about the installation requirements and was struck with an idea which might enable the home fires to burn once again at OTB. Depending on the gas fireplace insert, only 11-20 inches of clearance is needed. What if below the mantle a new firebox addition could be tied into the existing firebox which would hold the insert and the combustible gases piped out the existing chimney through flexible pipe? Hmmmmm…………….


This afternoon we had HVAC technicians from two of the local heating and air conditioning companies assess the situation. Both techs reported that our idea would work. We were now on a roll.


This evening we met with the contractor, Bruce, and his son, Dillon. They remind me of Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. on Discovery Channel’s American Choppers. Joe drew up a concept drawing for the guys to catch the vision. Bruce told us we needed engineering drawings in order to get a building permit. Check - Joe can do that. Bruce told us the building inspector really likes the engineering drawings to have an engineer’s stamp on the drawings. Check - Joe can do that.

Tomorrow Clark will tear down the cabinets and shelves on both sides of the fireplace.

Well that’s where we stand as of this evening. There will be more to follow as this project progresses.