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Winter 2006
Roof view of finished chimney on New Hampshire Lake Residence.
Photo courtesy of Noldesign
By Mark Haverstock
Who can resist the magical feeling of warmth and intimacy that a fireplace provides? The cozy atmosphere naturally draws people together — whether it's an intimate group enjoying glasses of wine around a small stone hearth, or a large family gathering around a grand structure that rises to a vaulted ceiling.
A fireplace can also be a refuge where individuals can enjoy solitude and peacefulness. It's an open invitation to sit for a spell, a diversion from the must-do list and the generally hectic pace of modern life. Relaxed, you lie back and admire the color and texture of the hearth and surround, knowing that Mother Nature herself could only create such beauty.
Fireplace serves as centerpiece for spacious living room.
Photo courtesy of Marxer Photography
Artistic License
Stone and art have always been an inseparable combination, dating back to the ancient Greeks. Modern artists, such Pete Archer, while inspired by this rich history, are using stone in new and creative ways. For his own home, Archer relied on Sepulveda Building Materials to provide him with a combination of Lompoc Oatmeal flagstone, Lompoc Mountain ledgestone, Gray Blend and Lompoc Mountain Ledge Cream to build his one-of-a-kind creation. "What he did was cut down the full-size veneer and did a dry stack out of it," said Steve Ashton of Sepulveda. "The detail on it is amazing — he took the flagstone and hand chiseled for a perfect fit."
With all of the pieces custom cut, Archer took almost two years to complete the fireplace and other related stone projects around his residence. "There's plenty of detail," Ashton said. "He has a header, hearth and a mantle where he used thicker material to give it the desired projection."
So why does Archer, along with countless others, insist on natural stone for fireplace construction? "I think people who are building new homes or remodeling want it done right and will spend a little extra money to get the real thing," Ashton said. "You can put any name on artificial stone you want — faux, manufactured, imitation or engineered — it still comes back to the same thing: it's not the real thing. If they're going to spend the money to put up stone, I believe that they feel they're cheated if they're not getting real stone."
Hand-crafted fireplace constructed of Lompoc Oatmeal flagstone, Lompoc Mountain ledgestone, Gray Blend and Lompoc Mountain Ledge Cream.
Photo courtesy of Sepulveda Building Materials
According to Ashton, knowing the market is important to satisfy customer preferences. "I buy all the veneer for the company, and I'm always doing market research to make sure we have what our customers want," he says. "The brown shades are the [trendy] colors [in Southern California] and have been for a few years. In the mountains, the darker colors are in demand."
Granite Centerpiece
Dominating the rear quadrant of a California guesthouse located in Raymond, Calif., is a massive fireplace. Made of Sierra White rip-rap from Cold Spring Granite Company's nearby quarry, the fireplace features a cozy stone seating area around the outside. "We made a four-inch thick seat that wraps from the front of the fireplace back into it — it coves in about six feet," said Mark Mansfield of Cold Spring Granite. A granite flagstone floor covers the area from the front of the seats to the fireplace. Above the firebox is a recessed area for decorative accessories.
"The design is an existing one based on a job we'd done about 20 years ago," Mansfield explained. "Basically, I'd sold the product to a customer who wanted to build his own fireplace. Before we began, he gave me pictures of the original and we used them as a basis for the design."
Fireplace constructed from Cold Spring Sierra White rip-rap features a cozy stone seating area near the firebox opening.
Photo courtesy of Cold Spring Granite Company
This current version is somewhat larger than the original, containing about 22 tons of rip-rap, ranging from four to 10 inches thick. To accommodate this sizeable structure, architect Michael Karby and contractor Jake Koop Canam had to engineer a suitable base and supporting structure. The fireplace was built on 15 yards of concrete foundation, six feet deep. On top of this foundation is an inner wall constructed from concrete masonry units. The arched cove was built out of a steel structure and the granite was then tied to the structure.
Old World Charm
Because the owner of the Upper Warson Residence in St. Louis is a hunting enthusiast, he challenged the architect to design this dwelling incorporating the characteristics of an Old World hunting lodge and the informality of a 300-year-old English country cottage. To complete the effect, massive stone fireplaces — five in all — became an integral part of the design. They chose Indiana Buff limestone, installed by Spencer Brickwork Inc., for the interior fireplaces.
Decorative carvings in the Indiana Buff Limestone accent hunting lodge motif.
Photo courtesy of Marxer Photography
The largest fireplace, which serves as the focal point of the 29-foot-by-52-foot vaulted living room, was inspired by the residential fireplace designs of English architect Edward Lutyens. The stone facing — featuring an outdoor scene and ducks — was carved by the Arthur J. Lager Monument Company and reaches 14 feet tall and 10 feet wide, with some pieces weighing up to 1,300 pounds.
At mantel height, the fireplace angles in on each side as well as from front to back all the way up. A massive firebox approximately six feet by six feet and 38 inches deep connects to a large stone chimney that rises to a height of 38 feet. The exterior chimney uses tumbled, split face Cottonwood and Silverdale from Raineri Building Materials Inc.
In Harmony with Nature
Roger Nold Sr., chief architect and principal of Noldesign, has a passion for designing and building homes that incorporate natural elements. For the New Hampshire Lake Residence, he used natural stone reclaimed from the local area and unshaped trees to create a huge fireplace and chimney as centerpiece for the home. Their biggest challenge: creating one of the single largest chimney caps ever used on a residence.
New Hampshire Lake Residence chimney cap. A thin layer of mortar is spread on the top part of the pillars to make sure the load was evenly distributed. The straps pictured are made of Kevlar — they're flexible and are covered with a fabric that doesn't damage the stone.
Photo courtesy of Noldesign
"We are architect-builders, so we have the flexibility to design and execute all of our own projects," Nold said. "That chimney, which is 145 tons, was conceived as a round, tapered cylinder from Day One, but we considered many methods of creating a cap because of the chimney's size and the need to keep the weather out." Nold looked at precast concrete and cast-in-place concrete, but finally chose Granite Industries of Vermont to engineer a custom cap using natural stone.
The 11-foot diameter cap weighs 14,000 pounds — more than six metric tons — and features a slight pitch on the top so the water can run off. "Then we needed a drip fabricated on the edge so that the water would drip away from the chimney," Nold added. "It has an interesting profile on the edge, a positive pitch and then a reverse pitch, which transitioned into a drip that was actually carved out of the bottom of the piece itself." Stone pillars support the massive cap approximately 18 inches above the chimney to provide circulation for the flues, in addition to good draw for the smoke.
It's quite possible that it could have been less expensive to use prefabricated concrete for the cap. "We looked at all the alternatives and, in the end, it wasn't about cost, though there wasn't really a significant difference in price," Nold said. "The stone became our choice when we considered other materials and looked at the house. It didn't seem that an exposed piece of concrete was appropriate with the colors, textures and materials planned for the structure."
Chimney at New Hampshire Lake Residence is surrounded by a glass skylight and beams fashioned from whole trees.
Photo courtesy of Noldesign
Veneer Makes Inroads Indoors
With the advances in fireplace technology, including gas and direct-vent wood-burning fireplaces, builders are now looking for a natural, lightweight facing that can be used on a variety of fireplace enclosures. "Our thin veneer gives you all the colors, textures and benefits of real stone without the weight," said Mike Ruetz of Buechel Stone. "Now there's an alternative."
Structurally, you no longer need a conventional foundation for the fireplace. In the past, you'd typically build the firebox and chimney outside the home. But using a zero-clearance fireplace with lightweight veneer, you can put the fireplace just about anywhere you want on a standard floor, usually without additional reinforcement. "Less expense for foundational support reduces new construction costs, and the ease of installation reduces the labor costs generally associated with natural stone installations," added Jane Bennett of Champlain Stone Ltd.
Typically, Buechel's veneer stone is 3/4- to 1-1/4-inch thick and can be applied easily to drywall or cement board. If you use cement board, you can generally skip the first scratch coat of mortar. With drywall installations, metal lath is applied over the drywall, followed by a scratch coat and then the stone is placed on the wall. For ease of installation, Buechel and many other veneer suppliers offer ready-made, 90-degree corners. "We can do returns and custom corners, too, such as a 135-degree angle," Ruetz explained.
Full Castle Rock thin veneer earth tones add warmth to family room.
Photo courtesy of Buechel Stone
According to Buechel, natural veneer stone is durable, unique and will add real value to a home. When compared to other traditional building materials such as wood and vinyl, natural stone is virtually care-free and will endure for the life of the home. "Manufactured stone products have a limited lifetime for colorfastness and durability. And if scratched, chipped or broken, the exposed surface shows the concrete matter it is made from," Bennett said. "When natural stone is broken or chipped, you see more beautiful stone."
With the wide variety of veneer stone and blends, choices tend to be based on personal and regional preferences. "We sell a lot of our Chilton, which features earth tones, reds, beiges, buff colors," Ruetz said. "Rustics are also popular, including our Seam Face Weather Edge Stone and our signature Wisconsin Weather Edge.
In and around the Adirondack region of New York, Champlain Stone's granites are very popular. "American granite and Summit granite feature earth-tone colors and weathered or rustic surfaces; these are perfectly suited for the log- or timber-frame homes and the great camp style that is synonymous with the region," Bennett said. "Some of the older lakeside estates have undergone restoration or expansion and require stone that matches or complements the original, native stone. Our Corinthian and Van Tassell granites, with their full-color ranges, are typically chosen and also present a more refined or sophisticated appearance."
A blend of Corinthian granite roughly squared/roughly rectangular and South Bay quartzite roughly squared/roughly rectangular quoining for the firebox.
Photo courtesy of Champlain Stone Ltd.
Set in Stone
Photos courtesy of Martin Cooney
When a fireplace needs custom touches, such as molding or intricate design work, homeowners and contractors call on architectural stone carvers like Martin Cooney. "I love doing fireplaces because they are the centerpiece of the room, which is often at the center of the house," he said. "They draw people like a magnet, especially when there's a lit fire inside."
Cooney works from plans provided by interior designers and architects, but more often than not, clients will bring photos of a fireplace they've seen in another residence that caught their eye. "Often people will see something in a magazine and say, 'I want this fireplace,'" he explained. "Though the dimension of the firebox and the space available ultimately dictates the finished design, I try to keep the proportion so it resembles the picture."
Architectural stone carver Martin Cooney stands beside a Winterset limestone traditional design fireplace, Ascot, Colo.
For most fireplaces, the mantle is the focal point of the fireplace because it's typically at eye level. "That's usually where people want the detail," Cooney explained. Before anything goes up vertically, he always lays it out horizontally. Everything is set out on the floor and all of the corners are aligned so it's a smooth operation when it's finally put together. "It's too late once you decided to put stone on stone and it's a little bit out," he said.
During Cooney's training at Bath College, he learned to do some amazing things with just hand tools. But he also utilizes more modern devices, namely flush cutters, spinner pads, pneumatic chisels, and angle grinders to help meet the demand for his work. "This allows me to compete favorably with the extremely expensive programmable machines — a vast array of routers and bits," he said. Unlike programmable cutters that have no checks and balances, he can check every aspect, measurement and angle of a job as it progresses.
How long does it generally take? "It's a fairly speedy process," he explained. "I can do most fireplaces in a week. If it's very elaborate, it might take a bit longer."
Contemporary design fireplace of Winterset limestone located in Aspen, Colo.
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References
Buechel Stone Corp.
Chilton, Wis.
(800) 236-4473
www.buechelstone.com
Champlain Stone Ltd.
Warrensburg, N.Y.
(518) 623-3088
www.champlainstone.com
Cold Spring Granite Co.
Cold Spring, Minn.
(800) 328-5040
www.coldspringgranite.com
Martin Cooney, Architectural Stone Carver
Woody Creek, Colo.
(970) 309-2774
www.mcstonecarver.com
Noldesign
Hampton, N.H.
(603) 926-3909
www.noldesign.com
Sepulveda Building Materials
Laguna Niguel, Calif.
(800) 394-4726
www.sepulveda.com
Spencer Brickwork Inc.
Ellisville, Mo.
(635) 391-4071
www.spencerbrickwork.com
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