How to make a drywall fireplace with your own hands

The fireplace in the house is not only a tribute to fashion, but primarily comfort and comfort. There is nothing more pleasant than gathering the whole family for a cup of tea near a warm light or dream near him alone. But not everyone can afford to build a stone made of stone due to limited means or space. In this case, there is an excellent alternative - a decorative fireplace made of drywall.

Advantages of a drywall fireplace

Gypsum cardboard belongs to one of the most popular environmentally friendly materials, which is actively used in the construction of partitions, walls, mezzanines, shelves and, of course, fireplaces. He has practically no shortcomings, except that he needs a decor, and even this can be more likely to be attributed to the merits.

A decorative false stone is a design made of a metal profile, which is sheathed with drywall.

A drywall fireplace has a number of advantages and advantages:

• low cost compared to stone fireplace;
• the possibility of manufacturing structures of various shapes and installation even in the smallest rooms;
• the simplicity and accessibility of installation - even the most inexperienced builder can make a fireplace made of drywall;
• a false fireplace of drywall can perform several functions at once - used as shelves for books, stands for dishes and other purposes, depending on your imagination;
• since there is no open source of fire in the false stone, it is absolutely safe in operation. Therefore, if you have small children, you may not be afraid for their life and health;
• there is no danger of damage to the furniture and floor standing next to the fireplace from falling out hot coals.

What can be a fireplace made of drywall, you can see in the photo.

Varieties of chipscardone fireplaces

Decorative fireplaces made of drywall can be divided into 3 types:

• conditional - have portals protruding from the walls, in the furnace of which an electric fireplace can be placed;
• reliable - fireplaces that practically do not differ from stone fireplaces in size and appearance. In the furnace you can place bio -rocks - full copies of this hearth;
• symbolic ones - are not related to these fireplaces, since they are performed in the form of decor, they do not have portals.

Decor of the portals of the false stone

Falter purebred puffs are remarkable for their versatility. They can be used to simulate a real fire, but you can not hide the props and even focus on this, it all depends on the style.

Portals decor options:

1. Most often, portals are decorated with candles that remarkably imitate the fire of a real fireplace. You can enjoy both fire and slight warmth. A great option for a romantic evening with candlelight.
2. For a more realistic picture, firewood is added to the furnace, which are laid out on the lattice above the candles. It turns out the effect of wood fireplace.
3. A new modern option for simulating fire in fireplaces is a LCD display or, as it is also called, an electronic photo frame. Externally, the device is like a small monitor in which you will have the opportunity to change the appearance of moving fire. If you want to use an electronic photo frame or an electric fireplace to fill the furnace, it is necessary to measure their dimensions in advance so that they fit into the finished fireplace.
4. Another unusual option is decor with the help of books, collections of figurines, toys and other exhibits.
5. A fireplace decorated with New Year's tinsel will look very beautiful. It can be Christmas toys, garlands, rain, and, of course, gifts for children and loved ones.

DIY gypsum plasterboard

Before starting the construction of a fireplace, you must prepare:

1. First of all, choose a room and a place to which you will mount a fireplace. It can be both a bedroom and a guest room or kitchen. If you have small rooms, then drywall corners will be the best option.
2. After choosing a place, you will need to make a drawing and a sketch of the planned fireplace. If you doubt your design abilities, you can invite a specialist for these purposes. He will tell you what style it is better to perform the design so that it looks in your interior.
3. Builders recommend making a layout of the upcoming design to correctly calculate the amount of building material. The material for the layout can be ordinary cardboard, and ordinary PVA is suitable as glue, and in some cases even tape will be enough. You can put the layout to the walls to see how the fireplace will look in the future. Do not spare the time to make a layout, this will help you save time and money.
4. Well, of course, for construction you will need materials and tools with which you will work:

• drywall sheets. If you plan to decorate the fireplace with ceramic tiles, then it is better to take a moisture -resistant drywall. The sizes of sheets and their number depend on the size of the fireplace itself;
• the metal profile from which you will make the structure of the structure: guide (28 × 27mm) and rack (60 × 27mm);
• metal screws for metal (length 14-16 mm), which will be needed to connect parts of the frame;
• self -tapping screws with a secret head for attaching sheets of drywall to a metal structure;
• screwdriver;
• electric drill and punch for working with concrete walls;
• electric jigsaw;
• hacksaw;
• bulgarian;
• scissors for metal;
• acute construction knife;
• construction level;
• roulette;
• square;
• dowel;
• abrasive skin;
• putty for drywall;
• volga or aluminum sheets;
• decorating material.

Preparation of the base for the fireplace

Before starting the installation of the frame for the fireplace, it is necessary to prepare the base for it:

1. The best base will be a concrete pillow. Its dimensions should be larger than the fireplace itself is 20-25 cm, and the height is at least 20 cm.
2. Despite the fact that in a fireplace of drywall, open fire is not used, the walls around must still be protected, since they can also heat up from ordinary candles. The best insulating material will be asbestos or aerated concrete. If your fireplace is decorative, protection will not be needed.

Installation of the fireplace

So, you can proceed to the installation of the fireplace. First we collect a metal frame:

1. If you plan to place a fireplace not very close to the corners, you can mount the frame immediately on the wall.
2. Apply the necessary markings to the walls and floor.
3. Then proceed to fastening the profiles that you cut according to the necessary dimensions-attach the profile to the wall and drill shallow in several places shallow tap holes.
4. Remove the profile and plunge the holes in the places of the tags to the required depth so that dowels are placed in them. In the concrete walls, the holes are drilled with a perforator, and a drill will cope with the brick walls. Check the horizontal and vertical of the frame by the building level.
5. In accordance with your drawing, fasten the chopped lines of the metal profile to those that are already fixed on the wall.
6. If the place for the fireplace is selected near the angle or the fireplace will be a corner, then the frame will have to be assembled completely, and then already mount it in place.

When the metal frame is ready, it can be sheathed with drywall:

1. The sheets of the material are drawn and cut through the desired dimensions using a grinder and attached to the profile with self -tapping screws.
2. All joints of drywall sheets are necessarily strengthened by metal profiles using self -tapping screws.
3. To strengthen the design, every 30-40 cm lines are inserted, which are also attached to self-tapping screws.
4. All seams are plunged after they are treated with an abrasive skin.
5. The furnace place is isolated by foil or aluminum sheets.

A decorative fireplace in which you plan to install candles must have a chimney, like a real fireplace. The chimney pipe is double - one pipe enters another. For security purposes, the presence of a damper is mandatory. But, if the room in the room allows you, you can make a chimney just for beauty and more similarity to a real fireplace.

Decorating the fireplace

Now that the design of the fireplace is ready, you can proceed to the most important moment - the decor. To do this, use various material depending on the possibilities and taste preferences. It can be a self -adhesive film, paint, tiles, plaster, gypsum and even forging elements. You can combine several types of finishing material at once. The decorative stone looks very good in combination with metal forging. The most important thing in choosing a decor is harmony with the general interior of an apartment or house.

Playing with a film:

1. The gluing of a drywall fireplace with a film is the most budgetary and simple way of decor, which does not require special surface preparation.
2. Draw the film in accordance with the size of the fireplace and cut with scissors.
3. Stick the film on the drywall and combine with a piece of fabric.
4. The film lasts quite a long time, although over time it still begins to peel off on the corners. In this case, the film can be replaced with a new one or decorated the fireplace with other material.

Coloring the fireplace:

1. If you decide to paint the fireplace, you need to prepare the surface well, put the seams and heads of the screws, since any paint reveals all the irregularities.
2. After puttying, the surface is thoroughly wiped with a skin.
3. The ambassadors of the complete drying of the putty need to apply a primer to improve the adhesion of paint to the surface. For this, a primer with pigments is suitable, it helps to avoid gaps, applied very smoothly.
4. 4 hours after priming, you can proceed directly to painting. Choose water -based paint, it is most suitable for drywall, dries quickly and lies perfectly evenly.
5. In the same way, the surface is prepared for pasting with wallpaper.
6. For work, choose a roller instead of brushes, then you do not have to apply more than 2 layers of paint.
7. Dilute the first layer of paint with water 1: 2, and the second can not be diluted.

Imitation of stone

A fireplace decorated with natural stone looks very beautiful. But such a finish is not suitable for drywall, since the stone is very heavy. It can be replaced with tiles or artificial stone, as well as their imitation. Imitation of stone today is the most popular type of decor:

1. Process the surface of the drywall - clean from dust and pieces of putty.
2. Puffing the surface and create a shape on it different in size bricks.
3. Crush the bricks with the help of a brush so that they look like masonry from uneven stones.
4. After the plaster completely dried, the surface of the special acrylic paint-laziness of the color you need.
5. Paint the places that imitate cement masonry.

Ceramic tiles cladding:

1. Before lining with ceramic tiles, the surface is prepared as well as the imitation of the stone.
2. Tiles on a special glue that can be purchased at a construction store is placed.
3. A day after the masonry, it will be possible to close the seams between the tiles.

To give the fireplace a complete look, the decor is complemented by baguettes, baseboards, pilasters, moldings, columns, stucco molding, forging and other elements. For a greater similarity of a decorative fireplace with natural, you can decorate it with some accessories: a metal grill, a hardened glass door, a fireplace set with a poker, a firewood. Above the fireplace you can hang a shelf for books, candles, family photos or your favorite figures. All this will give more comfort and warmth.

Now that you know how to make a drywall fireplace with your own hands, you can safely take work.

Gypsum cardboard fireplace. Video