Jumping into the Fireplace Project
So last Tuesday morning I looked at my boring living room and thought: “Time to get that fancy entertainment center with fireplace I’ve been eyeing”. Grabbed my tools, unboxed everything in the middle of the floor, and realized immediately this ain’t no Ikea nightstand. The fireplace unit alone weighed like a small bear.
Step-by-Step Struggle Bus
First disaster: Thought I could trust the wall measurements. Wrong. After lugging the wooden frame against the wall, the stupid thing stuck out past the window trim. Had to drag it back to the garage and hack off three inches with my jigsaw while sawdust flew everywhere like confetti. Looked like a beaver chewed it but whatever – hidden in the back anyway.
Wiring circus: The manual said “just plug into nearest outlet”. Yeah right. The fireplace power cord was shorter than my phone charger. Ended up crawling under the house through spiderweb city to run an extension cord along the floor joists. Nearly got stuck when my belt loop caught on a nail – good times.
Fireplace Fiasco
When I finally wrestled the fireplace insert into the cabinet, realized I’d forgotten the damn heat shields. Had to pull the whole unit out again (more scratches on the floor, wife was thrilled). Nearly broke my thumb when the mounting bracket slipped. Pro tip: wear gloves even if you think you’re tough.
- Big mistake #1: Not checking if wall was level
- Big mistake #2: Trying to lift fireplace solo
- Big mistake #3: Not having beer ready for when rage sets in
After three hours of sweating and swearing, finally got it mounted. Plugged it in and… nothing. Turns out I blew the circuit breaker when testing the surround sound earlier. Felt like an idiot but lesson learned.
Victory Dance
Around 11 PM, finally hit the power button. Those fake flames actually worked! Threw in some decorative rocks from the garden center to hide the wiring mess. The whole project took two days instead of the “simple afternoon” the YouTube videos promised. Worth it though – now me and the cat have a cozy spot to binge Netflix. Just maybe don’t look too close at the trim work.
