Masonry Magazine November 2008 Page. 38
FIREPLACES & CHIMNEYS
Southland Brick and Block offers pre-fabricated fireplaces that are assembled with mortar. "It's quick and easy to put them together," Orme says. "It takes a mason one or two days."
He says local masonry contractors work with his company to build outdoor fireplaces. "There are several products on the market similar to ours," Orme says. "Most of the brick and block suppliers have these types of products, so masons should talk to their local supplier."
Some products can simplify building outdoor fireplaces and chimneys. Jure says that although outdoor fireplaces don't need dampers, masonry contractors still use them since they help with the construction.
"Throat dampers get used in exterior fireplaces, because masons know that they save work, which saves money," she says.
Setting detailed mantels
MASONRY CONTRACTORS are needed to assemble detailed, hand-carved fireplace mantels. Daniel Sinclair, founder and owner of DMS Studios Ltd., in Long Island, N.Y., was trained in Italy and now carves fireplace mantels from quarried marble and limestone.
"A mason for our purposes, installing a mantel, is a stone setter," Sinclair says. "We've made mantels that have more than 70 pieces of stone. That's a very difficult mantel to assemble."
Assembling the mantels is like putting together a three-dimensional puzzle, he says. The pieces have to fit tightly together and have the proper alignment.
"You need a drawing, and you need a numbering system," he says. "You have to number every single piece, know where it goes, and know the sequence when it's installed. This isn't like typical masonry building where you run strings. You use levels. You have to follow the reveals. If you lose them, the pieces won't look right. The mantels are so complex that it can take four to five days - even a couple of weeks to put them together."
For assembly, masonry contractors need to safely transport the large stone pieces, get them to the jobsite, unload them, and carry them into the room, without damaging the carefully carved pieces. Some pieces are too heavy to be lifted by hand.
Sinclair has carved mantels that cost into the six-figure range, including one for the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House. Masonry contractors who want to get into the mantel-setting business need to learn from an experienced stone setter. "You have to apprentice yourself to a stone setter," Sinclair says. IMAS
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36 Masonry
November 2008 www.masoncontractors.org
The Voice of the Masonry Industry