The hearth is a central and significant part of the home. For many, it’s a place for friends and loved ones to gather and unwind, it’s where traditions begin, and where memories are made. A great amount of research went into designing this fireplace prior to deciding on our finished product. It was important for us to capture and create a design that would encourage all of the above. Ultimately, we decided on floating quartz hearth and mantel paired with patinaed steel panels to create a modern yet industrial aesthetic.
These home owners recently completed the build of their semi-custom home. Throughout the entire construction process they had a vision for what would ultimately occupy this space. However, it took a firm like New Hope Remodeling to marry engineering and design to create a beautiful final product.
In this before picture, you can see the gas fireplace installed by the builder.
As with any custom build, our pre-construction process began with a trusty roll of blue painters tape and a laser level. This exercise allowed us to illustrate the scale we were hoping to achieve.
Prior to installing the floating quartz, we fabricated a structure of wood and steel. This phase presented three unique requirements. The mantel structure needed to be small and had to be invisible after the quartz was installed. The right side of the hearth required a primarily wooden structure to allow ease of cabinet installation. Finally, the far left side presented the greatest hurdle. We would need to cantilever our miter folded quartz eighteen inches from the wall and eighteen inches from the floor. This structure needed to be strong enough to support itself, the quartz, and at least one thousand pounds of people or things that could be placed on it at any time. The cantilevered section was fabricated by Cottingham LTD utilizing structural steel box sections to provide the strength and stability necessary to support the quartz.
The installation of solid surfaces such as quartz and granite is something best handled by specialists. This project was unique because we created the illusion of five inch thick quartz by folding three centimeter material into boxes that would surround the wood and steel structure. The Ultracraft custom cabinets, provided by Niece Lumber, were installed on a 3/4 inch thick plinth to create the illusion they were also floating.
This element could be considered the most striking. We started by installing a plywood skeleton that was precisely cut on a CNC and assembled by Cottingham LTD. From this skeleton we would suspend our patinaed panels and stainless steel ribs. For ease of maintenance of the fireplace and its components, the firebox panel was installed using rare earth magnets.
At the conclusion of this I’m left with feelings of immense gratitude. Not only for those that helped me completed such a stunning project, and stuck with me through every hurdle, but for the homeowners. It goes without saying that without them this project would have never come to fruition, but for me it goes much deeper than that. They understood that their project was unique and they instilled their unwavering trust in myself and my team to bring their vision to life. I can’t help but feel grateful for that.
Thank you to all those involved: Niece lumber for supplying our cabinetry, quartz, raw materials and support. To Cottingham LTD for creating the most eye catching patinaed steel Bucks County has ever seen. To Linda McManus for capturing stunning photos that make our work look even better. Finally, thank you to the three of you that I couldn’t have done this project without.
