Fireplace Grates with a Mission/Art Deco Influence

That Ugly Stone!

The insert helped the appearance and efficiency of the fireplace, but removing the ugly surround revealed an area covered in soot. We got some soot removal “goop” and painted it on. Two coats did a decent but incomplete job, and all it really served to do was make the ugly consistent, especially on the top left where some was hacked out to make room for the old surround.

Image shows the area above the fireplace insert after treatment with soot removal product. Image also features our cat Enid on the Xmas tree box in front of the fireplace.
Fireplace After Soot Remover

Time for paint!

The fireplace insert in the lower left, with the convection vents visible on the lower and upper right.
Fireplace insert with vents

Much improved. But these crude vents on either side are still ugly. They serve a good purpose, transferring warm air from the blocks around the fireplace into the room through convection. At the same time they offer a view into the raw concrete blocks behind, and they’re. . . crude.

Close up of the original grates after painting. Five bars of stone transit a rectangular opening horizontally. In the background raw blocks and mortar are visible.
Old Grate Detail

Time to fix this, and with the arrival of a new 3D printer with a large build plate, we have the technology. Should be a good quick project, right? Wrong! Never say quick.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2 comments

    Rawle Johnson 1 year ago

    Fantastic! I absolutely love love love Mission style.

      Alan Langford 1 year ago

      Thanks, Rawle! Another “couple of weeks” project that took a couple of years, but was worth it.

Comments are closed.

Type to search