Fireplace with drywall do it yourself: step by step instructions for making

Of luxury, a fireplace is becoming a popular way to decorate an interior. Many people who wanted to install it in their home faced the problem of strengthening the foundation for heavy brick structures. The emergence of electric and bio fireplaces expanded their scope of application to urban apartments.

Manufacturers offer a wide range of models for portals. Great opportunities for the construction of lightweight modifications has drywall.Plasterboard designs allow you to decorate the fireplace to your liking and possibilities: natural stone, tiles, fire-resistant plastic. Making a portal with your own hands, you can give it any shape and size. The easy, nonflammable and strong framework will become a basis of magnificent design decisions.

Fireplaces differ in their functional features. Real fireplaces - heating units for solid fuel or gas - require the installation of a chimney, the organization of traction, the presence of fuel, a ventilation system. The portal for this type of fireplaces is made of iron, steel, brick, natural stone. These materials have a high resistance to long-term exposure to high temperatures, drywall does not possess such properties.

The drywall fireplace is a portal in the form of a real hearth., but inside the structure remains hollow, which makes it impossible to use it for solid fuel or gas furnaces. In appearance, such a portal with the appropriate decoration is no different from a traditional full-bodied fireplace. Drywall frames are used for decorating decorative portals and for placing an electric or biofireplace inside the structure.

Building a decorative or conditional portal for a fireplace with your own hands is a rather simple technological process. A frame is erected from a metal profile or wooden bars, and is sewn on top with drywall along the pattern of the structure. For plating used cuttings from a whole sheet, which has a size of 1.2 - 1.3 meters in width and 2.5 - 4.8 meters in length.

Depending on the size of the frame, they use construction scraps of a moisture-resistant plasterboard. The thickness of the drywall is selected on the basis of the required load bearing. If this is a simple niche that protrudes from the plane of the wall to enrich the interior video sequence with a decorative relief element, then any sheet thickness will do. In the case of using the upper surface of the fireplace to accommodate heavy and bulky items such as an aquarium, a plasterboard thickness of 20–24 millimeters will be required.

Another type of portals for fireplaces that do not have a chimney, but which have a heating element - electric and biofireplaces. For them, too, use cladding plasterboard. It uses a heat-resistant analog, it is distinguished by its composition. Flame retardant properties are enhanced by a special layer of clay and reinforced fiberglass.In the middle of the sheet is equipped with crystallized water up to 20 percent by weight of the material. Externally, it is easy to distinguish by the pink color of the cardboard.

Drywall is the basis for any finishing material: it can be decorative plaster, painting with interior paints, lining with ceramic tiles, marble, decorative stone, metal slats, moldings outlets. The frame allows you to hide communications inside to connect an electric fireplace or lighting device inside the fireplace portal. The form of the portal depends on the chosen design style. The fireplace in the style of minimalism can have a simple rectangular shape without additional elements. Imitation of rustic French or Scandinavian fireplaces will require lining with artificial stone. The classic portal is trimmed with elements of natural or artificial marble or stucco.

Thus, the cost of construction is affected by a set of finishing materials. Before starting work, it is worth exploring the technology of mounting this or that type of finish. As well as the technical characteristics of various materials, their compliance with the place where the fireplace will be built. The advantage of decorative and electric fireplaces is that their construction does not require paperwork for a construction permit. The design can be placed in any suitable place in the apartment. It is only necessary to decide on the style decision of the false fireplace.

Type of fireplace depends on its location in the room. The method of junction to the supporting structure determines the appearance of the frame, the consumption of finishing material. In determining the location take into account the size of the room, the height of the ceiling, the placement of pieces of furniture for visual contemplation. The fireplace is installed in a place so that it does not interfere with the movement of residents.

Decorative portals are:

• wall;
• corner;
• island

Wall - located near one of the walls. A good view requires a lot of space, so in small rooms to place the fireplace portal along one of the walls is impractical.The wall fireplace plays the role of the main accent in the interior, sofas and armchairs are placed around the viewpoint. An imitation of a living fire or a biofuel fireplace will bring together the whole family, there should be enough space in front of the facade of the fireplace.

Corner portals made of plasterboard are placed between two adjacent walls. The area of ​​the room can be any. Even in a small living room or bedroom, this structure will not take up much space. Such a fireplace can be equipped with a decorative chimney to create a picture of a real hearth. Structural support on two walls will allow the use of even heavy materials. Corner fireplaces are a very beautiful design detail. The furniture around set in a semicircle, which gives comfort to the room.

Island fireplaces are quite volume constructions. For their construction requires experience and knowledge of building structures. The consumption of materials for this model is the largest, as the portal is made from four sides. The room for them should be spacious. The portal should not be placed in the zone of active movement. Elements with sharp corners can cause bruises, especially in families with children.

The compositional island fireplaces become the heart of the living room, serve for zoning space and are visible from all points of the room. An island fireplace can be supported on the floor and reach a height of 1/2 or 1/3 of the height of the room. The construction of the second variant is erected from the floor to the ceiling, such as a column with an opening for a foci of a hearth or a biofireplace. The third option is possible thanks to the construction of plasterboard, which is attached to the ceiling and goes down to the desired height, where a niche or a through opening is made. Any of these options changes the appearance of the space and models the functional zones.

The portal can be voluminous in an island location and quite small for wall decoration. Such stylized fireplace designs solve the problem of decorating a room. They have a depth of 20 centimeters, perform the function of a console for placing above the top panel of art or TV. In a shallow niche have art objects or electronic imitation of fire without heating function. In place of the firebox, decorative candles or other stove heating accessories are often installed.

The appearance of the fireplace portal is a key factor in the organization of the interior. Let us recall the Russian expression “to dance from the stove”, and in the design of the premises, the shape of the portal becomes the leading theme of the stylistic decision. Modern design trends have added a new theme to fireplaces. Unusual materials and innovative forms of portals are amazing. Stylish, decorated with metal plates, decorative fireplace in Art Deco style erases the usual image of the hearth.

Small housing has led to the emergence of a separate architectural style in the design of the apartment. Small squares called for the abandonment of artsy furnishings, suggest the presence of only the necessary multi-functional furniture. The color used in the finish is white. It visually increases the size of the room, but has some amorphousness. To create an interior frame, add a brown or black color scheme. The fireplace portal has simple rectangular shapes, and the lack of decor, monochrome tinting became signs of minimalism.

For the construction of the portal in the Art Nouveau style, the frame is made with smooth bends. A niche is decorated with wrought iron details with plant elements or an inset of a stained glass window with a floral ornament.Behind the stained-glass window they place an illumination that has a connection to the electrical network inside the hollow structure. The backlight can be controlled from the remote, have different modes of brightness and color segment. The rest of the situation is also selected in the modern style.

Decorative false gypsum fireplaces of simple rectangular shape are very easy to install. Material exterior plays a major role in imparting artistic qualities to this structure. Consoles have a small surface area, which means you can afford a more expensive finishing material: granite or marble. Manufacturers offer a wide range of textures and colors of both natural and artificial stone. The original styling scheme, the use of contrasting colors creates an atmosphere of African style.

It is necessary to show a little effort to create a true work of art at home. A shallow portal is installed on a pedestal, the entire structure is veneered with several types of tiles from a single ensemble, these kits can be picked up in hardware stores. Marble tiles, ceramic panels on the side panels, top slab with marble moldings give an expensive look to the fireplace portal.Watercolors, pastel colors of the fireplace are recognizable touches of modern style.

Suspended ceiling structurally goes into a protruding panel of plasterboard. The panel is a rectangular niche for decorative firebox. The firebox has a flat frame that can be painted in the color of the panel or highlighted in contrasting colors. These colors are best repeated in the room setting. It’s enough for a fireplace to add one or two original details to destroy classical stereotypes, shift the frame of the fireplace at an angle to the other - and futuristic features of high-tech style will appear.

The stylish design of fireplaces suggests a simpler external form, but a complex positional component. Suspended models are common, such designs are the best suited for the execution of plasterboard. The complex framework of a metal profile frame must be equipped with a project and a calculation of the carrying load, since the suspended portal for a false fireplace must bear the weight of the suspension itself, the weight of the decoration, objects and equipment.

Let's get acquainted with the detailed description of the construction of the simplest design for those who want to make a fireplace portal with their own hands. Consider the step by step instructions for installing the box. You will need to stock the following materials: metal profile, drywall, brushes, metal mesh, serpyanka, screws, dowel-nails, a knife with removable blades.

Need a graph paper, building level and plumb, a triangle with a right angle.

• The first step is to determine the location of the fireplace in the room. We choose the form and functions: to install an electric heater or bio fireplace, to arrange shelves for decor items or to place a TV. From these tasks depends on the height, width, complexity and structural content of the frame.
• The next step is to draw the future design to scale. The drawing reflects the scheme of the frame of the metal profile or wooden bars.The basis, in the absence of experience, it is better to take the finished project and make the necessary changes to it. For example, we give a drawing of a classic portal. Dimensions are standard and can be varied as desired.
• According to the finished drawing, the required amount of profile and drywall is calculated. For a complex construction, make life-size patterns out of paper or foam and try on the wall. On the wall and on the floor draw a scheme of the portal with a pencil on the pattern and, if necessary, adjust. According to the corrected pattern, the parts are cut out from drywall.

• Begin to install the frame. This will require profiles for drywall, screws and dowel-nails. The profile is cut into segments of the desired length and begin to mount the frame on the wall along marking lines. The upper guide, the overlap of the decorative firebox and the two lower horizontal guides are connected to the vertical posts. The profile frame of the parapet on the floor is also performed.
• The next step is to mount the frame of the facade, securing it with transverse strips. In the manufacture of arcuate elements need to make cuts in the side parts of the profile in steps of 2 cm.After that, slightly bend the profile with your hands. With insufficient strength, add stiffeners from sections of the profile. All stages of work are controlled by the construction level and plumb in order to avoid deviations from the vertical. The details of the ribs are regularly measured and their position is strictly at an angle of 90 degrees. This will ensure proper distribution of the load and will contribute to the good performance of the future structure.

• After assembling the frame place the wiring. Install switches and sockets. The wires are insulated with corrugation and fixed to the wall in places that will then be covered with drywall. Sockets and switches for convenient and safe use are fixed in visible, accessible places. Here is placed the electronics to control the LED lighting from the console.
• Start plastering plasterboard. Details are cut out with a construction knife: the outer part of the cardboard is cut on the front side, the rest is cracked. Curved parts are cut by a special hacksaw for drywall. The finished parts are screwed to the frame with screws for drywall, which fasten a maximum of 15 centimeters. Homemade box for the fireplace is considered prepared.
• The edges of all the joints are cut at an angle of 45 degrees to a depth of 0.5 cm and glued with serpyanka. Serpyanka glue on a special putty for drywall. Then apply one or two coats of primer. After drying, the top layer is puttied with a putty to hide the defects from the screws and serpyanka stripes. Dry putty is rubbed over with metal mesh by hand to prepare the fireplace box for finishing.

Building a box for a decorative portal requires patience and some skills; in the first stage, advice from professionals will come in handy. The most interesting and artistic part of the work is the finishing of the front part.

The traditional way to design - wallpapering. Wallpapers well hide surface irregularities, and one layer of putty is enough. Wallpapers are selected in the tone of the walls from a single collection, using a border with an ornament for finishing the facade. The option of pasting boxes and walls with the same trellis look good only in fashionable stylish interiors - Scandinavian, minimalist, hi-tech. In this case, the colors are better to prefer monotonous.Fireplace, covered with wallpaper with flowers or with monograms, looks inappropriate.

The preferred method of finishing an artificial fireplace - painting. To do this, on the draft layer putty put primer. After drying, finishing putty is performed, which is rubbed with a fine-meshed mesh to obtain a smooth even upper layer. Then follows a layer of primer for painting. The paint is applied in two or three layers, less often in one.

The current generation of water-based acrylic paints have good technical performance., quickly dry, have no smell, can be tinted to any desired shade. The coating of acrylic paint is not afraid of moisture, withstands several wet cleaning. More resistant to external influences, temperature variations oil-based paint. When arranging a fireplace with a heating element, it is necessary to choose a composition with a refractory component. Interior acrylic paint is available in a glossy and matte version. Gloss gives a beautiful shine to the surface, if you apply the method of painting under the marble, where specially created beautiful stains, you need to choose this type of paint.For classic fireplaces with stucco better to stay on a matte structure, it gives a silky effect.

Painting - the traditional way of finishing the stove or fireplace. With it, you can get any kind of decor, from artificial marble to a shiny metal surface. Bronze, gold, silver components are used to make stucco gilding effect. Pilasters, rosettes and moldings of polyurethane foam are glued to the front part, painted in white, green or blue. A gold stripe is applied to the thread of the pattern with a thin brush, it does not have to be perfectly flat. Small variations in the width of the gilding will add a high price to handwork for the fireplace in the classic palace style.

Portals made in the technique of “artificial surface aging” look very interesting. Such decoration will decorate the interior in the style of Sheby-chic, loft, Provence. The technology works the following. The first layer is painted with an active bright color. After drying, cover with a pastel shade. Then you can apply one or more pastel layers of another color.After waiting for complete drying, sandpaper slightly rubbed the surface so that they began to shine through the lower layers of paint. The vintage fireplace will get the look of a noble old times.

It is worth paying attention to such painting techniques as patina application and artificial cracks. Patina is a very thin layer of shiny gold, silver or bronze paint applied to the main color scheme. Then the gilding is lightly rubbed with emery paper, creating the feeling of a very old valuable thing. Artificial cracks - craquelure - performed by applying several different layers of color scheme. From above, everything is covered with a special lacquer, which cracks, lifting up the layers of paint behind it, it turns out a very interesting texture "antique".

Drywall - a unique material, lightweight construction of it are of great use in interior decoration. Often, a chimney is installed above the fireplace portal to give greater certainty, as well as to fix plumbing pipes. If water pipes are located in the box, they must be painted or tested for strength in order to prepare for conservation.

The upper stove of the fireplace or the floor is mounted on the basis of the first contour of the frame by marking. The same contour of the desired size according to the drawing of a metal profile is mounted on the ceiling. Then these floors and ceilings are connected by vertical guides, which are reinforced with stiffening ribs. The chimney frame is trimmed in the same way as the portal body. The presence of a decorative chimney will bring rustic features to the interior. It will look very nice decoration of the fireplace in a rustic style. The optimal location of the fireplace with the chimney - the corner. There is enough space to create an imitation of a real firebox.

For the construction of the box around the existing chimney is better to invite the master. It is necessary to observe a number of conditions for isolation of materials from high temperatures and safe operation of the structure. The chimney pipe itself must be insulated with mineral wool and keep the air gap between the structural elements. The reward will be the construction, which will add solidity to the interior.

Properly executed, the shell of the fireplace from drywall in compliance with all technological requirements - a very strong and durable structure. Finishing material is also worth choosing a capital - facing stone or brick, porcelain stoneware or marble.

The most common method of decorating a fireplace is tile cladding. This tradition dates back to historical times when the facades of stoves and fireplaces were trimmed with tiles with relief patterns - tiles. Today this trend in the interior is again popular. An ornament on a tile can contain a plot - idyllic scenes or a floral pattern.

Tiles are both monophonic and colored. In the latter case, the color is chosen under the main tone of the walls and floor. The beauty of tile fireplaces is recognized as the best work of art for the interiors of palaces, mansions of the nobility. Today, this artistic type of decoration can afford to admire everyone. The construction industry offers a huge variety of tiles of this type in various price categories, from manual production to industrial production of high-quality counterparts.

Well saby recommended artificial or natural stone. Artificial designs surpass natural marble or granite in performance. Their appearance is completely identical to the natural one, but the surface is more resistant to impacts, does not lose luster and does not scratch. They do not require special care products like marble, they are easy to care for with conventional detergents. The weight of a thin layer of decoration is several times less than the weight of a completely stone or brick fireplace.

Limestone or brickwork will harmoniously fit into the interior of a country estate in a rustic style or chalet. The external heaviness of the structure will give thoroughness and natural expressiveness. This material is well combined with wood and simple plastered walls. The design of the rooms in the Scandinavian, English, Mediterranean style, as well as the loft-style decoration will be complemented by an accent in the form of a fireplace, decorated with stone.

Marble is a good composite element. to create a classic interior in luxurious styles - baroque and art deco. Artificial or real marble and granite are often used to decorate worktops by the fireplace.The top panel is the location of art objects, commemorative photographs, bouquets or flowerpots with fresh flowers. A beautiful and practical option to perform the worktop of MDF or pasted tile. You can purchase a finished panel of the desired size or order the necessary modification in the workshop.

Choosing a model and finishing a drywall fireplace is a very important task. The fireplace should be the central focus of the living room interior. What style to choose, where to place - ideas will be prompted by effective and stylish design solutions.

• The built-in plasterboard construction is a minimalist electric fireplace portal.
• A decorative fireplace built into the wall gracefully emphasizes the lightness and conceptuality of modern design trends.
• A fireplace built into a corner of the house organizes space and lends dynamism to a simple setting.

How to make a false fireplace with your own hands, see the video.