Journey to the Center

We’re trying to find a stone that looks good for the fireplace surround and hearth. I thought this would be easy. Silly me. There are so many kinds of stone and so many places to check, all during business hours. Of course, this is nearly impossible since I actually work. But due to circumstances (known as booooring work days), my husband and I were able to head out to look at stone last week.

We started with a little place in Bellevue. They had some interesting stuff, but the pieces that I really liked were too flaky for use on the floor and not thick enough to stand up to the abuse. We decided to hit a little shop on the way home that we’ve passed a thousand times and never been in. And we will never darken their door again.

The man behind the counter, under the guise of being helpful, informed us that we’d done everything all wrong and that there was no way they could do what I wanted. He couldn’t tell the difference between a request for tile and a request for 2″ thick stone. I was instantly ready to go, but my husband is so nice (and gets embarrassed when I yell at strangers) that we stayed for another 10 minutes or so.

The worst part is that they had some really neat stone tiles there.

My husband is working on the molding as I type this. He’s getting the hang of it, but we’re going to have to give my father back his nail gun today so he can work on his home. I’m really hoping we can steal it back when we come back from this mini-vacation.

This afternoon, we’re headed out to look at slate and stones for the fireplace. We’re going to be doing this work ourselves, too. I’m really looking forward to attaching the stone we choose, whichever one it is, to the wall and floor. Of course, the flagstone we choose probably won’t fit in the hearth and we’ll have to cut it, but Dad has a tool for that too. I think I’ll cross my fingers that we find something we like at this shop today.

My husband and I have been working on cosmetic renovations of our house. This is basically a starter house - we know we’re not going to be there too much longer. So we’re not investing in stuff that won’t raise the value of the house, but we’re trying out some new things to see how they work. So far we’ve pulled up the carpet upstairs and repainted. We’re cutting new molding, since the old stuff couldn’t be recycled and we’ll paint it once it’s attached. It’s exciting work, but tiring and takes forever. Right now, however, it’s the only thing we’re working on where the results are tangible, and this is a huge relief.

There are a lot of things left to do before we try to sell the place. I’m going to try to keep track of them along with the lessons we learn. Right now, it’s only “measure twice, cut once.”