I titled this post " week 2" but who am I kidding.... it's basically the FINAL week of this project because Nathan is a DIY ninja and works at the speed of light. I'm (sort of) kidding... but in all seriousness, this project may go down in history as THE FASTEST DIY fireplace wall in the history of all fireplace walls. I'M JUST SAYING - MY HUSBAND IS AMAZING.
Enough about how Nathan works faster than I can write blog posts... and more about the actual project!
If you've been following along on Instagram then you know we have made a ton of progress since my last blog post. Here is what Nathan has completed in the past week:
+ Primed/Painted the Shiplap
+ Installed the swing arm sconces
+ Caulked all the trim and shiplap
+ Finished building the floating shelves
+ Sanded and stained the floating shelves
+ Installed Floating Shelf Brackets on the shiplap
+ Notched out the back of the shelves to accommodate the brackets
+ Built one cabinet box that houses the (2) cabinets and wine racks
Now do you understand what I mean when I say that he works at the speed of light?! The fireplace unit was also delivered in this time frame and we did install it - but then we have to unplug it/take it out so the tile could be done! And speaking of tile...….
Today was the day I shared a first look at the fireplace after it was tiled and I have to say, it looks better than I imagined it would! Tile is something that Nathan did not want to do on his own, so we hired someone to come in and tile it for us. We were both thankful that we did because he completed it in half the time it (probably) would have taken Nathan... and he did a great job! Sometimes, even though its a "DIY" project, you need to call in someone to help with something you're not comfortable tackling on your own - no shame in that!
The fireplace is getting grouted today and once that is finished, set and dry, Nathan can install the shelves, finish the cabinet boxes and install the butcher block countertop! The tile was a big step in the overall process and we had to wait for it to be done in order to continue with a number of other items.
I received a few questions asking how Nathan constructed the shelves, and I (partially) answered that in my Instagram stories, but here is a little bit more of an explanation for you! We decided to make hollow shelves; which required a little more material/wood and labor, but in my opinion, it was worth it in the end for the look I wanted.
Materials & Tools needed to make the 4 foot hollow shelf:
+ 8 foot piece of 1 x 12 - we had Home Depot cut them in half creating two 4 foot pieces
+ 6 foot piece of 1 x 3 - Nathan cut these at home and they serve as the side edge of the shelf
+ Nail Gun
+ Circular Saw or Miter Saw
+ Orbital Palm Sander
+ Stain - we used this color!
+ Chisel & Hammer
+ Floating Shelf Brackets
Steps Nathan took to create the shelves:
+ Cut the 1 x 3 piece to the depth of the 1 x 12 piece (roughly 11 inches - just measure!)
+ Nail the 1 x 3 piece to the edge of both 4 foot 1 x 12 pieces
+ Repeat that step on the other side of the 1 x 12 pieces (this creates the hollow box)
+ Sand the entire box/shelf until smooth
+ Install the brackets on the wall - slide shelf onto the brackets
+ Mark the location of the brackets, so you know where to notch out the wood
+ Notch out the back of the wood to accommodate spacing for the bracket to sit inside
+ Stain the entire shelf (we used two coats of this stain - we did not use any poly)
Now... I made that sound REALLLL easy... but it was not all sunshine and rainbows. I think Nathan would agree that the shelves were one of the major challenges (besides the drywall - he hates drywall work). The other element that Nathan is building, are the cabinet boxes. That is a little more complicated and may need it's own blog post - so I'll save that for a rainy day!
P.S.
The goal was to have this finished by this weekend.... as in tomorrow, because we are actually hosting an event at our house tomorrow evening (oye... I know, we're crazy!) It may not be fully completed, and we may have to finish a few small things next week, but I think overall it'll be prettttyyyy close! Make sure to follow along on Instagram for daily updates!