Fireplace

Right after we moved into our home, I knew I wanted to build a fireplace for the holidays. I took a week off of work and figured I could knock it out. NOPE! The entire process took about a month and a half.

I started by building the braces in the back attached to the wall. I used 3 1x6's and cut them to the width I wanted for the fireplace, I also marked the studs on the braces. This was fast and easy. Next, I started on the sides. I cut 2 2x4's down to create the top and bottom and to add some additional support in the middle. My walls are 9 feet high, so I didn't need to cut any of the height down. I did the exact same thing again to make the other side. Then I attached the 2 sides to the braces.

Now it was onto the front. I measured the inside of the braces and cut 2x4's down to size to make a very large rectangle. I then cut down more 2x4's to provide the support for the fireplace. I used this fireplace from Touchstone Products: https://www.touchstonehomeproducts.com/products/the-sideline-50-touchstones-recessed-electric-fireplace-with-heat-in-black and it had all the dimensions that I needed in the instruction booklet. Super helpful. Once I built the opening for the fireplace. I attached 2 2x4's about 16 inches apart to provide TV blocking. These 2x4's are essentially your new studs. I did all of this BEFORE building it into the frame because I didn't want to use pocket holes and this way, I could just drill in the screws as normal on the floor.

Once the front frame is attached, you can decide on your finish. I wanted to do roman clay so I needed to put up drywall. If you want to do shiplap, you can immediately start this step. You may need to add more studs from the previous step to nail the shiplap into but in my mind this would've been a much easier choice. However, I wanted something more modern so enter drywall.

For some reason, I thought drywall was super light like an MDF, NOPE. One sheet of drywall weighs roughly 75 pounds and I am about 120 soooo....this was HEAVY. I scored it with a utility knife to cut it and because of the weight and me doing this by myself, I had to cut it into a lot of pieces so I could hang it. I used drywall nails to secure it to the studs. Drywall before mud is not pretty.

Next, was taping up the drywall seams and adding the mud or skim coat. You'll use drywall joint compound (I used pre-mixed, this is also super heavy) and added a little bit of water until I got a thick yogurt consistency. Then I added this to the wall using my mud pan and putty knife. After each round of mud, you need to sand - I know. I used my orbital sander first then it made so much mess that I started to wet sand with a sanding sponge. Overall, I probably did about 4 coats of mud and sand to not have it looking like a jigsaw puzzle. Between each coat of mud you should wait at least 24 hours so this was a very long process. After that, it's time to prime. I did one coat of KILZ primer and then started the roman clay once that dried.

I got my roman clay from Portola Paints and used the color Brava. I ordered about 4 samples to choose from before I settled on a color. Roman clay goes on in a similar way as mud because you also use a puddy knife. It is MESSY, be sure to put down some tarp or plastic to protect your floor. Portola paints has a great How To video that I watched before getting into the painting. After the first coat, it looks rough. I was second guessing my choice. The second coat is a game changer. That's all that's needed is 2 coats. There is a top coat which is optional that I didn't do.

Once the fireplace was finished, I got to work on the mantel. I cut down 3 1x6's to length and wood glued/nailed them together. I used scrap wood for the ends and sanded the entire mantel then stained. I used peel and stick wood veneer to go over the ends to give it a clean look. To mount, I added scrap 2x4's to the studs of the fireplace wall and slid the mantel on top and screwed it in. Then wood fill the screw holes and stain. The look of the wood beam mantel is very in right now and costs around $200 alone. I made mine for about $50 including stain.

I decided to add a quarter round along the bottom of the fireplace since the rest of our house has it for a more cohesive look but this is totally optional.