DIY artificial stone firewood

Friendship of man and fire has been known since the beginning of the history of mankind. Even then, primitive people used the flame not only for cooking, but also enjoyed its contemplation. Since then, when humanity has learned to build themselves and their family at home, they transferred fire to their home. Today, a fireplace in the house is very fashionable and relevant. In order to build it, not small investments are needed, but the result is worth it.

Varieties of fireplaces

There are several types of fireplaces:

• electric,
• gas,
• decorative,
• wood.

Nowadays, electric fireplaces have begun to be popular, as they imitate real fireplaces, easily installed, consume little electricity, and are also safe. The disadvantage is that they cannot be used for heating.

Gas fireplaces are very similar to wood, they also have open fire, but natural gas is used as fuel. They require careful attitude, in addition, they can release an unpleasant odor if poor -quality gas is supplied.

Decorative fireplaces are installed for beauty, they cannot be drowned. They come in different sizes and shapes, they are selected for design in the house in any color. And sitting in front of such a fireplace also brings pleasure.

Firewoods are installed in private houses, cottages, dachas. For the furnace, wood or coal is used. The main drawback is not a cheap pleasure, as the use of expensive heat -resistant materials is required. However, this type of fireplace is the most beautiful and is most popular.

With such a variety of options, it is important not only to choose a fireplace suitable for you, but also to decorate it correctly. For these purposes, different types of decorative materials are used.

Types of materials for decoration

There are many options:

• tile;
• decorative plaster;
• natural stone;
• artificial stone.

Today, the decoration of the fireplace with ceramic tiles is as popular as the finish by stone. She looks very stylish and beautiful. The trim with tiles will not only transform the appearance, but also retain comfort and heat in the house. Nevertheless, glue and grout are used for the installation of ceramics that do not tolerate high temperatures, so in practice this type of decoration will constantly need repairs.

A feature of decorative plaster is imitation for any material, including stone. Decorative plaster is environmentally friendly and does not harm a person’s health, durable material, does not absorb moisture and smells, is sounding. With all its advantages, decorative plaster is not suitable for wood fireplaces, since the soot, getting to the surface of the plaster, is no longer washed, leaving ugly spots.

The fireplaces trimmed with natural stone look luxurious, these include fireplaces of granite, marble or white stone. However, this option has its drawbacks, firstly, it is expensive, in comparison with an artificial stone for a fireplace, the price of which is much lower. Secondly, if the fireplace is decorative, then under the weight of natural stone it can break. Therefore, most often, artificial stone is used for decoration.

Advantages and disadvantages of artificial stone

Artificial stone is produced using several technologies, on which the physical properties of this material depend. The most common is casting from gypsum and dryproof polymers. This method allows you to create a beautiful, but unreliable stone. Gypsum soaks from moisture, tolerates high temperatures poorly and easily breaks even from minor mechanical strokes.

A completely different matter is vibration pressing. This method involves the use of real stone crumbs and special polymer stabilizers. There are many options for external design, from imitation of natural stone to ordinary red brick. At the same time, the physical properties are much surpassed even marble and granite.

Such an artificial stone is characterized by high strength, resistant to any mechanical damage, withstands temperatures up to 1000 ⁰ celsius, is not afraid of moisture, does not emit toxic vapors. In addition, the thermal conductivity of artificial stone is quite low, it quickly heats up and quickly cools.

With tangible advantages, the material has its own disadvantages:

• is badly processed,
• interacts only with specific adhesives,
• it is quickly removed from production (it is impossible to replace the spoiled stone, so you have to completely redo the portal of the fireplace of artificial stone).

Nevertheless, this material is rightfully considered one of the best options for decorating fireplaces, as it allows you to realize a wide variety of design ideas and at the same time requires a minimum of investments. What the fireplace decoration looks like with an artificial stone, the photo will show the best way.

Installation technology

Camines made of artificial stone, unlike everyone else, suggest a very serious approach to the installation procedure. This is primarily due to the fact that the material, although durable, is quite capricious. Depending on the type of fireplace, the procedure is significantly different, so we consider in detail each of the options.

The easiest way is to decorate electric fireplace. For these purposes, it is enough to buy the finished portal of the desired width, which is simply glued to the surface of the wall. Any liquid nails are suitable for gluing. At the same time, the surface of the wall and the portal itself must be degreased using acetone, solvent or alcohol. Given the rich selection of forms and varieties of portals, additional decoration is not required. If desired, use a gypsopolymer stone.

The decoration of the fireplace by artificial stone in gas analogues is a more time -consuming process. Gas burning temperature is only 300 ⁰ Celsius (three times lower than that of a tree), however, there is already a need to use heat -resistant elements. There is no completely assembly of the furnace from the stove tile or brick, but you need to cover the fireplace with ordinary silicate. A brick is placed on a regular cement solution (2 parts of sand, 1 part of cement). For decoration, both a conventional finished portal and artificial stone slabs are suitable. The slabs are appropriate if the fireplace has a non -standard structure or is raised above the ground.

Decorative fireplaces are an exact copy of the real, with the exception that they do not have a chimney. Accordingly, they cannot be drowned. The use of the standard portal in this case is inappropriate, since using plates creates much more different execution options. For example, they combine different shades or shapes. In addition, an artificial stone lining is often performed in a monolithic style when the fireplace decoration elements are used in the design of the entire wall. It is worth noting that this method will be relevant only if the fireplace is located in the center of the wall. In angular options, it will not look.

The most time -consuming process is the decoration of wood fireplaces. Here it is necessary to adhere to a clear instruction:

• after installing the fireplace, it must be covered with heat -resistant stove bricks (from burned clay), the use of tiles is not allowed, since the glue for the stone does not interact with its glossy surface,
• for masonry, a cement solution is used, which consists of 2 parts of sand, 1 part of asbestos and 1 part of cement,
• the day after the work is completed, the fireplace must be well scheduled (at least one hour), it is done so that the masonry will finally become,
• a layer of glue for artificial stone should be minimal, so it is necessary to create the most even and smooth surface, for this the surface of the brick grinds (the influx of the solution and the irregularity of the brick leaves),
• clay-cement dust will interfere with the normal process of gluing, so the surface is wiped at first with a dry rag, then degreased with acetone or solvent (alcohol is inappropriate, since the high consumption of the material),
• further, the surface is treated with antifungal protective mixtures and a primer (the average drying time is 10-15 minutes),
• only after that they proceed to gluing the portal or individual plates, while it is necessary to apply the adhesive mixture directly to the artificial stone,
• you can use the fireplace in 30 hours.

Advice: Liquid nails are usually heat -resistant, however, high temperatures can melt the material, so it is better to use special mixtures, including Master Plitopol, Anserglob BCX 35, Master Flex, Ceresit CM 17.

Manufacturers of artificial stone

The production technology is relatively inexpensive, so in Russia quite a lot of private firms occupied this niche. The quality of their products is almost the same and all differences are reduced exclusively to the appearance and price. It is difficult to single out real leaders, as it largely depends on the region.

Nevertheless, European products are also represented on the market, which differs from domestic not only in price, but also in quality. Among the recognized world leaders should be distinguished:

• Hi-MacS,
• Staron,
• Dupont.

The Hi-MacS brand belongs to LG corporation. The proposed stone is quite durable, resistant to high temperatures and is presented in a rich assortment of varieties. The main emphasis is on wear resistance, it is almost impossible to damage Hi-MacS stone with a mechanical way.

Staron belongs to Samsung Corporation. With all the advantages of the previous option, the price is slightly less. The only noticeable drawback, the maximum operating temperature 160 ⁰ Celsius. For wood fireplaces, this is not enough.

The unconditional leader is Dupont. Despite the very high cost of products, the artificial stone of this brand is really one of the most reliable. It is easy to care for, does not burn out, does not burst from high temperatures, does not change color over time.