wseand

1,000 bucs no way, but I have a project that that will work for. So I say keep it the way it is and send the grand to me. No really that would look great you are definitely on the right track. Price it out and see what your dealing with. I always plan a project three months out and than try to save for it, sometimes it more like 5 to 6 months out though. Looks good though have fun with it when you have the chance.

SavvyCat

Yeah, okay, that sounds good... not! LOL!

That's my modus operandi--save for something rather than finance, although I did take out a small loan for the foundation repair. It was a weird loan because of the value of my house, and they would only pay one contractor. So I had them rewrite the bid for a couple thousand more so I could do the other stuff I needed, like gutters on one side (did the other side last year), some soffit repair, and the door. That leaves my meager budget for "fun" things. I could stash it and wait longer, but I'm already paying interest on it, so I need to find some other house-oriented thing.

I did manage to destroy the guest bath vanity when I changed the faucet...

SavvyCat

BTW, thanks one and all for the replies and input. I knew I'd probably have some cracks when I had the foundation done, I just expected the fireplace to be tougher. @Sonyac, maybe I should have had you guys do it?

itsreallyconc

there IS a steel lintel & the mortar crk's not surprising as mortar won't adhere to steel,,, add a home's guaranteed flex & VOILA ! have 1 in our fireplace & even above the garage door where there's a steel beam lintel,,, re the ( approx ) 1/4" sideways ' shift ' can't tell if that was laid that way OR there's been a shift,,, i'd bet on the former.

if you'd like to change the appearance, consider polymer-modified concrete w/fine aggregate ONLY - there's some amazing stuff bveing done,,, 3 good references - elitecrete's forums, decorative concrete forum, & concrete network.

we don't often ' do ' new work - we specialize in fixing other contractor's */*s instead - mucho mas dinero