I looked online and found a fireplace unit that would scale well in this space. We purchased it and my wife wanted to hire their installers so I could focus on other large projects in the house. Owner of the construction company seemed like a good guy and he was well informed that I worked in the trades and had VERY high expectations. He said his guys were good and we'd be happy with the results. I told him I'd stay out of the way and let his guys do their thing and just check on them once in a while.

The first 'red flag' was the morning demo was to start. The crew was late and when they arrived, the 'foreman' had no plans and no idea what they were doing, even though I'd sent my plans to both the contractor and the fireplace shop owner the night before. Fortunately, I had hard copies available. The owner never even bothered to show up. At least they're protecting my floors.