Work goes on... hearth and insulation

We've been having a great time doing all the "touristy" things with Beverley and Alex while still putting in the time at the ranch. The good folks at Home Hardware gave us a great deal on all the thermal and sound insulation, and even delivered it up here on Saturday morning. Thanks, Shane and Carlene. It's hard to believe that all these batts are going to fit into the walls and ceilings!

The other project we're working on is the hearth for the wood stove. In order to satisfy the safety requirements, it must sit on non-combustible material and be specific distances away from adjacent walls. We decided to cover the pad and surrounding walls with black slate. It looks great, in our opinion, and will act as a storage medium for heat, radiating warmth even after the fire has gone out. Our stove sits central to the house for a variety of reasons, so that puts it right in front of the staircase leading to the second floor.
We first had to create a slightly raised platform for the slate to sit on, so that it will be above the finished floors once they are installed. There was no need for structural reinforcement of the flooring as the wall below it is very beefy, in that it also supports a large beam in the basement. This makes the floor very solid. We then installed Durock, cement backer board on the wall surfaces that would hold the slate. This stuff is very hard and inflexible and makes a great base for the thin set mortar. The floor received a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood cut to the shape of the hearth.
We had previously sorted through the boxes of slate picking the more interesting pieces to go on the walls. We snapped string lines creating a grid that the tiles would approximate when finished, allowing us to keep them all level and plumb - or at least as level and plumb as natural stone can be. Every piece is a slightly different size and thickness so the grid was only a guide. Starting at the bottom of the back wall, we spread out only enough thin set mortar for one row at a time, making sure to "comb" it out with the trowel. We "back buttered" the slate tiles before setting them in the mortar, giving them a little "shimmy" to ensure a solid bond. Between the tiles, we inserted 1/4" spacers to allow an even space for the grout.
The job went fairly smoothly, with the help of a wet saw to make the cuts on edge tiles along the stairs.
Once the back wall was almost done, we moved to the floor, repeating the process. We like the result so far and can't wait to finish it up over the next couple of days.
We have also begun insulating, starting with the upstairs (since we sleep there and it's been quite cool at night). It is a little challenging because of the vaulted ceilings requiring at least one cut piece at the top of every void being filled with the fluffy, pink fibreglass batts. It's a nasty job requiring a respirator mask and full coverage clothing to keep from becoming too itchy from the fibreglass. It really feels like we're making some progress with the inside now, though, so that spurs us on.