First, he rebuilt the crumbling top of the chimney and replaced the cap.
You can see how much new mortar there is at the top. All that top row of bricks were pretty much just sitting there by virtue of gravity.
Then, when the masonry had cured, he came back and installed the chimney liner, and put the stove in place.
It looks at home now.
He had expected to have to come back later and insert the stove board under it, but the company shipped it faster than he expected. This somewhat makes up for their having quit making the one I chose from the catalog, which was darker with a faint hint of green to go with those glass tiles the former owners chose. It also had a random pattern of light gray, so ash spills would totally not show. But I'm not complaining because it's finally IN!
(Momentary photo-geeking: I've kept waiting and waiting to be at home when there was better light in the living room. It never happened. The automatic image stabilization on my camera is fantabulous because I shot these last three handheld at f2.7 at 1/20.)
Next step: acquire more wood.
