Project Warmth...

When we first moved into our big old house we had know idea how much it would cost to keep it warm, after our first winter we had a massively rude awakening...a huge chunk of change to heat of huge chunk of a house. So we decided we would try a woodstove in the living room just to help out with the cost and add a little ambiance...not to mention the fact that a hundred years ago a woodstove actually stood in the very same spot...bringing back a little history felt right as well. We were pretty sure that we wanted to have a base beneath the woodstove that would look almost as though it were built at the same time the house was...unfortuneatly every mason we talked to refused to do the base the way we designed it...they knew modern design and modern materials and everything they drew up screamed "modern". After the fourth Mason it became pretty clear that we were going to have to do this project ourselves if we were going to get it the way we wanted it...so we trekked out into the woods and found a "sh@#" load of fieldstone and we bought a few fake pieces as well (to keep the over all wieght down) and we did the deal ourselves...it may not be perfect for everyones tastes but it is perfect for ours and we are extremely happy with how it turned out...and it is kind of funny to mention that one of the men that said it couldn't be done has seen it finished and was very impressed with it in fact he is thinking of doing one in his own home...not so bad for a couple of novices...and just as a side note..first winter with the woodstove and it has already nearly paid for itself gotta love that...