Bushes and fireplaces

Some necessary items have been taken care of but they don't make good photos like shelves in closets.  The weather cooled off so I started in on some landscaping -- privacy hedge to be out of leyland cypress and two leyland cypresses to grow up in front of glass block windows in jack and jill bathroom.  These are primarily to block the late afternoon sun and just a bit more sense of privacy in the evening.  I also put in a red crepe myrtle for a bit of color from late July through September.  All of these have plenty of space to grow.  Sod comes next since the cool spell was interrupted by another heat wave this week.

The tile installer I had been waiting for all summer was also available and he put marble and glass tiles over the brick facing and threshold for the bedroom fireplace (was the original living room) and used marble tiles to make a raised hearth on either side of the living/room dining room fireplace.  The raised hearth is basically a box of 3/4 inch plywood to provide a surface to glue onto and to support someone stepping or sitting on it.  There are also 4 rows of matching marble mosiac all around each opening.  The tile installer also used (and had to cut them down to make them fit exactly) black pencil on the inside lip of the opening sides.  You do not see it but it butts up against the metal frame of the fireplace and the wall board encasing it.  The mosaic tiles overlap the pencil tiles.  Next effort is to create the wooden part of the facing and a wrap around mantle.