For city dwellers the presence of an operating fireplace in the house is almost a pipe dream. But this dream can almost be made a reality, since it is possible to make with your own hands a false fireplace made of plasterboard or other suitable material for these purposes. Even if the fireplace is partly unreal, its presence gives the room extra comfort and coziness. Such a fireplace can perform not only a decorative function. It can easily turn into a source of heat, if you install in it, for example, an electric fireplace or a burner working on biofuel.
Materials suitable for the manufacture of fireplaces
The drywall is the most popular material used to create many home improvements. With it, you can make niches and boxes, shelves and stands for various equipment and, of course, false fireplaces. This material is easy to install and finish, allows you to create any spatial shape, has a very reasonable price.
Facing or decorative brick under the screed can be used for the construction of a decorative fireplace in the event that there is a desire to give it the appearance of the present. For those who have had a little bit of masonry, this task will not present any difficulty. But giving preference to the brick, it is necessary to first calculate the load on the floor elements, which in this case will arise. For a brick false fireplace, there is absolutely no need for additional finishing, since the very kind of neat masonry has a certain charm.
Laminated chipboard and similar materials are also perfectly suited for the arrangement of false fireplaces. In order to achieve greater accuracy, it is necessary to prepare a drawing of the future decorative fireplace, indicating on it all the dimensions, and order the sawing of the chipboard in a company specializing in this. The plates used for the manufacture of false-fireplaces do not have to be laminated. You can use wood chipboards that have no coating, and after completing the assembly of the fireplace, trim it according to your preferences.
Various products made of polyurethane such as moldings, half-columns, platbands are mainly used in decorating an already made false fireplace. However, they can be glued directly to the wall, which, however, will spoil the feeling of naturalness of the fireplace, but it can be corrected with the help of some decorating techniques. For example, in the "furnace" you can hang a mirror, which will give her a sense of depth. Or above the portal you can hang a wooden shelf that will mimic a fireplace.
There are, of course, other materials from which you can build a decorative fireplace, but to list them all is simply impossible. The starting material can be anything: wood, foam, cardboard, glass, sheet metal, gypsum, plastic panels.
Required materials and tools
As the material used for the construction of the decorative fireplace affects the choice of tools, additional materials, work methods and finishing, let's take as an example the most common option when using a drywall for making a false fireplace.
The following materials and tools are required for its creation:
- The required amount of plasterboard. In the event that it is planned to use decorative or ceramic tiles for decoration, drywall should be used.
- Two types of profiles( rack-mounted 60 × 27 and guide rails 28 × 27) for the construction of the frame of the fireplace.
- Screws for metal, having a length of 14-16 mm, for assembling the frame, and self-tapping screws for attaching drywall with a countersunk head.
- Dowels-nails for fixing the frame on a concrete or brick wall.
- The composition of the remaining materials is determined by the type of finish: in the case of painting or pasting wallpaper - primer and putty;when tiling - suture grout and tile adhesive.
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Scissors for metal
- Scissor knife
- Construction level
- Roulette
To determine the number of required materials, it is necessary to draw a drawing in advance. Decorative fireplaces can have a variety of sizes, which depends only on your preferences and location. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to determine the place for installing the false-fireplace, its design and make the drawing on a certain scale.
Assembling the frame
When assembling the frame, the work is carried out in the following order and volume:
- The frame assembly begins with a marking on the walls and floor and from fixing along the applied lines of the pre-cut guide rails. To fix the profile, it must be attached to the wall and drilled in it a hole so that a mark formed on the wall. Holes in the wall should be drilled with a perforator or a drill. In the holes are inserted dowels.
- Install the rack-mount profile in the guide and secure it with a self-tapping screw.
- Mount the frame of the base, and then the portal frame with a niche for the furnace. To ensure the rigidity of the structure, long posts and horizontal sections should be fastened together by crosspieces.
- If the furnace hole must have a curved shape, then on the ribs of the profile stiffness at regular intervals it is necessary to cut with the help of metal scissors, and then bend it.
Cladding with plasterboard
Each detail of the lining is cut after careful measurements with a jigsaw or wallpaper knife. Screws must be screwed so that the hats are slightly recessed and that the distance between them on straight sections is no more than 10-15 cm.
It is easy for even a novice to work with gypsum boards. But during the work must be taken into account that this material is very fragile.
Finishing
This stage depends on the design of the entire room. However, most often for facing uses tiles made of artificial stone, which is fastened to glue.
If the decoration under the brick or stone is inappropriate, then the most accessible way of finishing is painting the decorative fireplace. Before this, it is necessary to make a thorough shpaklevku, leveling corners and irregularities, sealing joints between parts and sanding with a fine sandpaper.
