54 Cottage8: Cinder Block Wall, Behind the Scenes

Okay, by now you’ve seen all the “after” photos. Now here’s a look behind the scenes.

Aside from our house looking a bit disheveled, this a before shot of our cinder block wall, just moments before the big renovation began…

And here’s another “before” shot, below…

I’m not sure if this will come across in the photos, but there was 2 inch recess in the lower part of the cinder block, on each side of the firebox. To compensate for the difference in depth and make the wall entirely level without any gap, our handyman used construction adhesive to attach two wood planks on each side, then screwed another set of wood planks on top of those…

Aside from the tools and cinder block dust, here you can also see the beginning phase of the first sheet of drywall (left side) making its way onto the side of the wall that faces out…

The drywall fully installed, our handyman seamed the edges and finished it with compound. After 2 1/2 years of that unsightly cinder block, even this half-finished sight was a vision of beauty to my eyes…

For the next phase of the makeover, I painted over the drywall with Ralph Lauren’s Canvas Natural. Then came the mantel, which our handyman custom built to fit our fireplace…

   The design I had in mind was for it to be simple, straight lines and fuss free…

Crown moulding beneath the top plank was added to give it a little extra detail…

 

A look at the side profile… 

Simple finishing trim was used to finish off the corners and edges…

Next came the finish and paint. The top of the mantel was stained a dark walnut shade. The base was painted in Behr’s Seaside Sand, which was a little too vibrant, so we toned it down by mixing in a couple drops of raw umber…

How about a little Before and After, shall we?

BEFORE: 

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

Notice how cluttered the bookshelves used to be…

   AFTER:

Bookshelves look much more streamlined now…

To check out more photos of the rest of this completed project, please click here!

A couple of folks asked me about the paint we used inside the fire box: Rust-Oleum’s Specialty High Heat paint, in Satin Black. A bit thick, and it went on beautifully…

In my next post I’ll share with you this side of the (beadboard covered) cinder block wall, the one that faces into our dining room, and how we replaced that huge chalkboard with something(s) we love even better!

I want to thank you for your encouraging comments and emails on our recent renovation. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when we began this project. But now that all the dust has settled, I am over the moon thrilled with how it’s turned out. Thanks again for joining me on yet another renovation journey.

To see more of our home, along with updated photos and faq’s on how we managed to do all this stuff, click here, or you can click on the Cottage8 link at the top of my site!