Worst DIY project experience

Well it only took two weeks and we are thrilled with the final result, but the family has voted and we have decided that rocking the mantle is the worst DIY project we have attempted.  And trust me, we have tons of DIY projects under our belts.

Eric took 2 days to build the beautiful columns and Mantle.  It took one day to paint, and then we started on the rocks.  "Use real stone," they said, "the look will be richer and more timeless," they said!  Well, in the end they were right.  What they failed to mention was that if you mix the mortar consistency like peanut butter (as recommended), while still wet, a forty pound rock may decide to leap off the top of your wall taking all the rest of the rock that you had worked on for hours, scratch your fireplace, shatter your tile, and put major dents in the beautiful new mantle.  This happened twice.  What a mess.  We are so lucking that no one was underneath the rock when it decide to go.  Now everything is secure, dry and gorgeous.  We now know how to rock properly.  But if you need any rock done, please do not ask us!

We still have to repaint the black on the fire place but we needed to step back for a couple of days :)