Not Your Average Fireplace

    The Log house....

                     continued....

If you want to build a log house

on the prairie of South Dakota

you can look to this one

for some good tips....

the homeowners did their research

and thought of everything!

from the location,

on a hilltop

 overlooking a beautiful valley,

they did not skimp on windows to enjoy 

the gorgeous view!

And they hired the right crew 

to build a fireplace that is not only

stunning to look at, but also will warm the entire house

and keep them cozy when the snow and wind

are howling outside.

A few weeks ago

Jenniges Masonry from Custer, South Dakota

arrived on site with a crew

 and a trailer full of rocks

I was there with my camera to

photo journal the whole process

and

I have to say, "it was an amazing process!"

from the first wheelbarrow full of rock

to the last bucket of muddy water

I've never seen such a mess

nor...

such a transformation!

The great room filled up with 

rocks and suddenly looked like

boulder canyon!

Rocks everywhere and they 

just kept coming....

The fireplace sits dead center in the house 

and spans from the basement to the second level

the main level is double sided.

The main level and upper level are getting 

finished here, this covers 20 feet. (the basement will wait till later)

Approximately 7 ton of rock is used to 

cover the two levels!

the main entry view.

the crew of 6 picked rock, chiseled and hammered

and mudded them in one by one.

They had their own fireplace going out on the driveway

to keep the sand warm to mix into mortar...

cement mortar was hauled inside

via wheelbarrows.

They started from the bottom 

working their way up,

2 levels of scaffolding,

guys working on all 4 sides...

the piles of rock on the 

living room floor slowly dwindling.

When they got to the peak and the last rock was 

mortared in I thought "great, now we can start

vacuuming and cleaning up this mess"

OH NO,

Now the real mess begins!

The water hose came in,

and buckets were filled with

diluted acid!

One guy started hosing from the top

while the others started brushing each

rock down with acid....

YIKES!

"Now we have a water feature!" 

Water streaming down...

they covered a finished wood floor

with plastic, but all I could see was 

acid and water ruining it!

Water running down onto the hearth

like a rainstorm...

One guy on a shop vac sucking it up!

(one vacuum isn't gonna cut it, I thought to myself)

I kept my cool and told myself

"these guys are professionals and this is not 

their first fireplace!! RELAX!"

They hauled out buckets of muddy water...

As if just being spit-shined and polished,

the rocks on the fireplace came to life!

It looked like a monsoon

had just been through...

The plastic was removed from the mantel

and the wood floor,

and everything survived unscathed!

A miracle in my mind, but not to the pros!

They vacuumed and swept

and the place looked normal once again!!

South Dakota rock from both sides of the river...

the Black Hills, and Native Prairie, a real hammerhead, 

 Quartz, Petrified Wood, even a rock blasted from 

Crazy Horse Monument

all carefully chosen and set into 

a stunning display of master-craftsmanship...

 In five days a masterpiece was born!

A beautiful focal point of the whole house

and the owners' favorite thing about

their new home!

We all backed off and said "Wow"

It's a beauty

and

this crew should be proud!

And they clean as well

as they lay rock,

What a relief!!!

Thanks guys!