DIY electric fireplace

Nowadays, a fireplace as a means of heating a home is rarely seen. Much more often it is used as an interior decoration item. In private homes, there are no special problems with the construction of a fireplace. What if a person lives in a high-rise building? In this case, it will not be possible to build a fireplace in the classic form, if only because of the lack of chimneys in modern apartments. An option is to make an electric fireplace, and if you have some skills and desire, you can solve the problem yourself.

How to make an electric fireplace yourself

In fact, the electric fireplace is in many ways a fake copy of the real thing. In its composition, two main parts can be distinguished - the portal, as a rule, imitating masonry and making up the frame of the electric fireplace, and the hearth itself. It performs several functions at once - decorative, with imitation of flames, heating and lighting. There are many options for the design of the hearth, more or less expensive:

• Using a dummy of plastic firewood, under which there is a backlit fan heater. Strips of red fabric are attached to the pseudo-firewood, swaying due to the air flow from the fan;
• The same thing, but with a rotating reflector that imitates the glow of a fire;
• With an ultrasonic steam generator and an audio system that reproduces the sound of burning logs;
• Hologram and three-dimensional image of a flame.

Making an electric fireplace at home most often involves assembling a portal and installing a purchased fireplace, with rare exceptions. How exactly, in what order this is done, what is needed for this will be described below.

Materials and tools

First of all, after the appropriate design of the future electric fireplace has been developed, it is necessary to stock up on tools and materials, without which things will not go further than the drawings.

Necessary materials

The portal is a frame that is not exposed to any abnormal heat. Any more or less durable material, not necessarily heat-resistant, will be suitable as a basis for it:

• plywood, board, OSB or chipboard;
• aluminum or steel plates, painted accordingly;
• drywall;
• glass;
• plastic.

You can also lay out the portal from brick or rubble, but due to the high cost and massiveness, this option is not popular. Most often, the frame is sewn up using plasterboard, a relatively cheap and moderately durable material that has proven itself well in dry conditions. Boards, like plywood, are prone to cracking and deformation due to the constant circulation of warm air.

Tools

Depending on the materials used in the work, you may need:

• level or plumb line;
• shoe or stationery knife, regular and metal scissors;
• drill, grinder, screwdriver;
• roulette;
• spatula and sandpaper.

The list is not exhaustive, both in terms of materials and tools. As you work, it will become clear what is missing.

Preparatory stage

First of all, it makes sense to think about where the electric fireplace will be located. It is also important that there are no problems with supplying power to it.

Selecting a location

As a rule, the portal is located in the following places:

• near the wall - one of the widespread options, provided that the room is spacious enough;
• corner - somewhat saves both space and material for the portal, since it will not be a rectangle, as in the previous case, but a triangle;
• Mounted and built-in versions of electric fireplaces are more rare; the latter is used when there is a serious lack of space in the room.

There are built-in and wall-mounted versions of fireplaces, with a hearth thickness of about 7–10 centimeters, which does not greatly affect their decorative qualities.

An important nuance - when choosing a place, you should take into account the location of the windows; you may learn that daylight will hide the lighting from the fireplace.

Electricity supply

It is worth immediately planning an option in which the cord stretching from the outlet to the fireplace, spoiling the entire ambience, will not be noticeable. When selecting a fireplace, you should take into account the permissible load on the existing electrical wiring. It is not recommended to hide the socket behind the portal, complicating access to it, since an electric fireplace is a heating device with an increased fire hazard. The socket must be within reach of the user.

Calculation of parameters and design

When carrying out preliminary calculations, pay attention to the following nuances:

• Proportional dimensions of the hearth and portal relative to each other. Classic proportions are 1 to 2 in width and one and a half ratio in height.
• The size of the opening for the firebox should be such that it does not obscure the frame of the hearth and does not spoil the appearance of the fireplace.
• You should consider the location of such attributes as vents that prevent overheating of the heating element.

To secure the electrical wire, a shelf or special hooks are provided.

There is a rule according to which the design begins after purchasing the hearth, so that there are no misunderstandings related to its expected and actual dimensions, appearance and other parameters.

Drawing

Despite the fact that the design of an electric fireplace is not complicated, it is better to have a working drawing of the desired end result and take the time to draw it. All overall dimensions and mounting locations should be clearly indicated on it. Thanks to the presence of such a scheme, shortcomings in the planned design are often identified even at the design stage.

Creating a portal and pedestal - instructions

A tabletop made of chipboard, plywood or solid wood laid on a metal frame of the appropriate shape can serve as a pedestal. The size of the tabletop should be slightly larger than the dimensions of the portal. To give a neat look, the pedestal is sheathed around the perimeter with a plinth of a suitable color.

It is convenient to assemble the frame of the portal from a metal profile, which is subsequently covered with plasterboard. This solution allows you to inexpensively and quickly assemble a structure of sufficient strength and the required shape. Fastening is carried out with special metal screws, popularly called “bug”.

The frame is mounted as follows:

• sheathe a fragment of the wall that will be located behind the portal with heat-resistant material;
• mark the pedestal and wall according to the drawing, keeping to the level;
• attach the guide profile to the tabletop and to the wall;
• using “bugs” they attach the rack to the guide profile to give the structure the shape of a trapezoid, rectangle or parallelepiped;
• reinforce the structure with stiffening ribs every 25 cm.

To give it an entourage look, you can make a dummy chimney in the same way, subsequently covering the entire structure with plasterboard.