This is my fireplace kit. it comes on two
pallets. It comes with everything you
need - the glue, the block, and all the
instructions. Now it's time to tear into these
bad boys and see what we've got.
I'm like a kid at Christmas. This is the
box you're looking for. It's got all your
glue and all your instructions. For all
you fireplace experts out there, feel
free, just go right ahead start building
it. But for all you who aren't experts,
I'd read through my directions first -
just to make sure I knew I was getting
into. Your kit is going to come with two
pallets. One of the pallets is going to
have all of your specialty pieces. It's
going to have your cut piece,s lintel,
trim stones... all the stuff you're going
to need for your fireplace.
Even though our fireplace kit is more of
an extensive build, you're still just
going to need some basic tools. Make sure
you bring your big ass square! That's
going to come in handy.
We're ready to start at our fireplace
and our first level is the foundation
block. I can't emphasize enough how
important it is to make sure that it's
nice and level AND square when you start.
Because if you don't, you're going to be
fighting it your entire build and you
don't want to do that.
We're going to use our big-ass square to check everything.
It's just going to need a little bit of
an adjustment.
It looks pretty good to me. Our fireplace
is going to be built in "square foot
units" (SFU). As you can see we have two blocks
vertical. We're going to put one on the
top. This is what's going to make it 12"
by 12" and basically you're just going to
rotate these back and forth just to
break up the bond lines. I want to make
one thing clear: Tthe weight and gravity
of the block is going to hold your fire
place together. The glue there's just a
little extra insurance. When gluing your
blocks together - just a little tip - a
little bit goes a long way! You don't
want your blocks to start to "swim." You
actually want to feel the concrete
rubbing against each other.
Use the big ass square  - like I have here to
make sure your firebox is square and
flush. Okay! We're up one level now. It's
time to start with the fire brick! I'm going
to start right here with this block.
You're going to put it up vertical.
You're going to build the sides and then
you'll come back in and do the back. This
is what your first layer of fire brick
should look like. Notice how the back
overlaps the sides. There will be a gap
in the back. You don't have to worry
about filling it.
I just want to take the time to point
out these blocks in your kit. These are
called lintel blocks. You're going to
place these here and you're going to
make sure that the notch is facing the
inside. Because, this is where your angle
iron is going to rest. In this step all
I'm doing here is aging the little block
to make it look like the rest of the
blocks. Don't be afraid to put a little
muscle in. Your not going to break it in
half. You're just going to have to do
this on the outside edges because that's
what's going to show.
I'm just going to use a little bit of
sand to level the angle with the tops of
the lintel blocks. We're just going to
make sure it's all nice and flush and
everything's level.
You're going to notice me using the
brush a lot! All I'm doing is cleaning
off debris to make sure that the block
sit here like they're supposed to.
 
Now that you're done with the fireboxes,
you're going to start with the first
level of your smoke chamber! It's going
to "rack in" two inches on each side. This
is where you're going to do this little
finger trick! With the tumbled nature of
the block, it's the best way to do it.
As you can see here, I'm right on the
money! Make sure you keep your setback
even across the whole side. Use your
four foot level to keep the blocks flush
on the front and back sides. You're going
to do the same thing with the level on
the sides. Our smoke chamber is finished.
Now it's time to build the chimney! Hey
Everybody! After you make sure your
chimney is plumb and square, I like to go
back and hit the corners at a 45-degree
angle just to kind of "lock" them in. Our
homeowner has decided to make their
chimney just a little bit taller - so
instead of two rows eight we're just
going to have two rows of "square foot
units." Once you understand the square
foot unit, it's really easy to make
modifications. But, no matter what you do,
you're going to have a single layer on
the top (for the cap).  Okay, this part is
going to be a little bit weird. All we're
going to do is lay out the crown block.
Make sure it's perfectly square but
we're NOT going to glue it, yet. Now that
your crown blocks are all square and where
you want them - but NOT glued... You're going
to take your support block, then you're going
to place them in each corner. These
ARE going to be glued. and you're going
to let them set up for at least 24 hours.
Now that all the glue is cured, we're
just going to remove these trim stones
and then we're going to set the cap!
You might need a little help for that one.
(...2...3...LIFT) Just remember when you set the
cap, it's going to seem like you're
putting it upside down.
But, you're going to be looking at it
from the bottom :) With these trim pieces
gravity's going to do its job. But as you
can see, they can still fall. So you're
going to make sure you really glue these
down. When gluing on the trim stones, this
is the only time you're going to glue
on the bottom and on the sides. This is
just to help it it, here.
... just a little bit better...
Don't forget to reinstall your crown and
make it EXTRA pretty. Congratulations!
you now have your very own Romanstone
fireplace kit! What did that take - 10 minutes?
 