This is a bit of an unusual request from a customer. They had some water damage to the plaster above and to the sides of a fireplace. I removed the damaged plaster and the chimney was repaired. There is no more water infiltration.
The original plan was to repair the wall and bring it back to the way it looked before. However, after seeing the exposed brick, they find it charming in a rustic sort of way and want to leave it exposed. They’ve asked me to come up with some way of doing this. My sense of aesthetics doesn’t really see this as an improvement, but I’m looking forward to it because it’s an interesting challenge.
If you look at the picture, you can see that the brick and the lathe are in the same plane. That means that the brick will be slightly recessed after it’s all done. My plan is to basically frame the brick such that the frame overlaps the lathe and then repair the damaged plaster that is outside of this “frame”.
For the frame, I’m thinking about a shallow pilaster on either side and some kind of fake header that the pilasters would appear to be supporting.
I’m not sure I would like the look of painted pilasters next to the brick. It’s feels like a formal/rustic clash. But what kind of finish would fit with the brick? Railroad ties? (half-kidding). Distressed oak? (is there such a thing). How about some really dark stained wood? Does poplar stain well?
Thanks for any brainstorming help.
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Why not 'frame' the brick with a picture frame?
That way you get the brick to be the focal point above the mantle, much like a regular picture would be. And since a painting would be recessed back from the frame edge, the brick 'picture' wouldn't look out of alignment when compared to the depth of the plaster.
Yeah, I think that's the way to go. They also wanted crown molding in this room (it's already quite eclectic, what's one more design element) and I was having a hard time figuring out how to picture frame the brick all the way to the ceiling and still be able to use crown.
What I've decided to propose is this... I will repair the plaster about 6" down from the ceiling and 3" up from the mantle. Crown will be installed over the 6" repair leaving about 3" of wall exposed. The picture frame will look like it's sitting ON the wall because of the 3" of wall at the top and bottom.
Another advantage this approach has is that the picture frame can now be painted any color that goes with the brick. It doesn't have to be the same as the trim paint.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Here's a follow-up... I finished the exposed brick fireplace today. And as you can see from the pictures, I took the picture frame idea. It actually came out better than I expected.
Here's a set of in-progress to completion pictures:
After removing old damaged plaster:
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after cleaning the brick and hanging drywall:
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spackling (uh yeah, that's an exciting picture):
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Crown is up and painted:
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Finished. Cap rail to protect edge of drywall and cove molding along mantle:
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Don,Was just thinking of this thread today. Glad it turned out so well. Nice job!Best,
Steve'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
I think what will look strange is the formal
trim of the fireplace and exposed brick above.
Don't know the answer to that, but as far as the plaster-
something very unobtrusive next to the brick.
The brick will always be the focal point, and you
don't want to compete with it.