Floors and Fireplaces

We've made considerable progress this week tearing my kitchen apart.  Someday we'll turn the corner and start putting things back together instead of making more of a mess!  My alfresco kitchen is still usable.

And it's a good thing because Donnie shot an 8 point buck and brought us the meat.  Tom had to saw the venison shoulder so it would fit in my crockpot - the only way I had to cook it.  It was delicious and we all ate it all week as roast, then barbecue, then chili!

My poor refrigerator is moved once more.

Now even the sink is outside!

The kitchen is almost ready for a new floor.

We found some heart of pine flooring recovered from an old cotton mill in Clinton, South Carolina, that Randy, the truck driver, had stored in his garage.

Randy and his son Richmond loaded it for us.

800 Square feet of lumber is a lot!

Steve is using a nailer to put down the tongue and groove boards.

It's going to look great!

Tom and Reese went to the woods to get another load of chimney rocks from the old stacks.

Steve, the brick mason, finished up the last chimney.

Evidently it takes a lot of supervision to build a chimney.

With the chimneys finished, the only thing left for the masons to do is face the basement fireplace with the recovered stones from the log cabin chimneys.  The hearthstone is a perfect fit.

Tom is sitting on the hearthstone where nobody has sat for over 100 years.

Two rocks are turned out for the mantle to rest on.

Steve finishes up the last grouting.

It's a one-of-a-kind fireplace!

The brick masons pose in front of their beautiful creation:

Tom, Steve, James and their helper, Reese

We hated to see them leave because they've been wonderful workers and great company.  Hopefully, they will be back soon to build stone steps for the front of the house.