Nothing like buying a house in a significant part for the fireplace only to discover it's a firetrap that should have burned the house down 35 years ago. **sigh**
It's gone, now; torn out, and the underlying construction of it as it came down started to make one suspect that the room it lived in (an add-on 15-20 years after the original house was built) was one of those semi-clueless owner-and-brother-in-law projects.
Once we had the fireplace out, the first other thing that became apparent was that they weren't much as electricians, either. Bare wire splice in the ceiling---I really don't like looking up at live bare copper wire. **sigh redux**
Call electrician. What started as "tear fireplace out and replace with woodstove" project is getting pricier by the minute.
Stove should be here tomorrow and installed, blizzard/ice storm permitting. Electrician next week. But it's going to end up with a number of outstanding electrical issues fixed that I knew I'd have to deal with sooner or later.
Then I suppose I have to find someone to repair the ceiling. **trinity of sighs**
Eventually, I'm going to redo the terminally-70's panelled walls in there, and that room is going to ROCK. It will all be worth it in the end....if I survive.....
Once the stove is in, I'll try to get some pictures up.
