We now have our new Resolute Acclaim stove installed, as of yesterday. Here are some photos of the final stages of preparing the hearth area.

The hearth floor - my first time laying tile. Not too bad, eh?

The hardibacker cement board mounted to the wall on one-inch spacers (to provide airflow behind the wall shields):

The hearth complete with the wall shields tiled and grouted. The grouting was done on Wednesday, and I came down with a bad stomach bug that day. I got the one side nearly complete before I gave up and called Ken and asked him to come home. I spent the rest of the day lying on the couch, moaning and watching him work. He finished wiping down the side I had grouted, and then grouted the other side.

And here it is, all installed and ready for action. To cover the ugly thimble, we mounted hardibacker board, and will tile it at some future date. For now, it looks fine! When the installers came, the one guy walked into the living room and said "Whoa - that's great!" He had seen how that corner looked originally, when he came for the site check, and I think he had doubts about how we were going to make it better, but he was impressed.

We started the break-in fires yesterday, so we should be ready soon for regular use. It's just so nice to have this project done! Ahhhh.....