Southwest Fireplace

1.Mr. Herrera and his assistant arrived early and removed the old pellet stove and placed it in the garage. 2.They moved all furniture away from the working area and built a Polyethylene floor to ceiling tent around the fireplace to contain all soot, dirt and debris and keep it from getting into the house. 3. Removed the old flagstone hearth and mantel, and the wood frame from around the fireplace. 4. Placed hardy backer over the fireplace and installed the veneer bricks. 5. Cut new sandstone to replace the old hearth and mantel. 6.Grouted all the brick joints, then cleaned the fireplace surface. 7. Removed the plastic tent and all trash, which they took with them. 8. Cleaned the floor and replaced the furniture.

We love wood-burning fireplaces, and wanted to replace the pre-fab gas fireplace in our new home with a custom wood-burning kiva. We wanted to work with a true fireplace artist. So, we selected Robert Herrera, the owner of SW Fireplace. Robert's fireplaces are works of art; he has created hundreds of beautiful SW-style fireplaces. Robert was very punctual in arriving at our home to scope the project, and very knowledgeable about fireplace design in general. He arrived with a photo book with a gallery of his past projects, and provided many ideas as we settled on the specifics of our new fireplace. Our job was somewhat tricky, as we wanted to re-create the look of the kiva fireplace in our last house. Robert took the time to go to our prior home and create a template of that fireplace, so he could model our new fireplace on it. He also helped us circumvent an issue with the floor slab in our new home not being thick enough to support an all-masonry fireplace, by making the top part of the flue out of wire and covering it with plaster. The result is a beautiful, large, masonry and plaster kiva fireplace that is light enough for our 4 inch slab. Robert was very punctual and professional throughout the project, and took great care to not disturb or dirty our home throughout the demolishment and masonry process. He started the project on time and ended a week sooner than expected. We loved working with him and will do so again on any masonry or fireplace-related projects.