Spring Cleaning!

Its springtime and time to change out the winter woolies for shorts and flip-flops!  Now is a great time to start a home renovation or painting project.

At headquarters, there is a lot of work underway.  HQ was built in 1897, and the fireplaces were once used for coal - so they are very small - too small to burn wood or for most gas stoves - but we found some lovely, albeit tiny, stoves to use.

 We are filling un-used chimney cavities with vermiculite and lime, and installing stainless steel ventilation pipes in the to-be-used cavities.  We are doing this to stabilize the mortar joints of the old chimneys. Time and weather has not been kind to the chimneys, and they have a very definite lean to them... we'd like to keep them from toppling over!  Lime mortar alone would be very heavy, so we are mixing it with vermiculite, which will lighten it up, but still provide the stability we seek.

Next we will install gas logs or stoves - just in time for the summer heat!  The crew is working hard, but neatly - as always!​  ​

​This is a cavity awaiting concrete and vermiculite - to stabilize the chimney.

​The gas stove/log, waiting for installation

​Another stove/log waiting for installation

​What spring projects are you hoping to accomplish?  Get a fresh start on a new project. And keep checking in to see if our chimneys survive the makeover!