A Dilemma

Since having the fireplace installed last Wednesday much of Joe's focus has been on installing the skylights and shingling the roof. The skylights are in and he's nearly done shingling.

After getting the fireplace framed in and installed I stood looking at it and felt that something wasn't right. It became apparent that the two lower transom windows on either side of it are tucked in too close to the fireplace and not spaced evenly between the outer walls and where the stacked-stone surrounding the fireplace will be. At least to my eye it seems the space there should be equal. I contemplated saying anything to Joe to see if maybe I could get used to looking at it the way it is but I don't seem to be warming up to the idea. It probably bothers Tammy less than it does me but she agrees that it would be nicer if it were more balanced.

What to do?

I think the problem comes in with the rectangular center window above the fireplace. Ideally it would be another 8 inches longer allowing for all of the windows to be pushed 4 inches closer to the outer walls giving us the balance I'd like to see. I suppose it's not too late to do all of that but it would likely mean putting parts of the project on hold while we have another center window made.

Or is there another fix or two?

We could eliminate the center window (which was something we were seriously considering early on in the design phase) and take the stacked-stone all the way to the ceiling. We'd still have to re-position the remaining four windows so they were centered between the wall and the fireplace. It will cost extra to take the stacked-stone all the way to the ceiling but it would save me from possibly having to put the project on hold while we wait for a new center window. Plus, there wouldn't be the additional cost of a new window.

Another fix we're considering is to push the two lower transom windows 4 inches closer to the wall. They would no longer line up with the trapezoid windows above but I could more easily live with that arrangement than the way they're situated now.

I emailed Joe and Karen to tell them of my concerns.

Joe is always thinking long-term when he does a project; will it stand the test of time? The video below gives a good example of his approach to potential problems and the extra effort he makes to avoid them.