DIY iron fireplace: how to make a firebox, drawings

A do-it-yourself iron fireplace is the most practical option for a firebox, which you can actually assemble yourself in literally a day. To make it neat and safe, you need to make a drawing and think about the location of the structure. How to do this is described in detail in the presented article.

Location options and drawings

You can make a metal fireplace with your own hands, but first of all you need to decide on its location in the room. There are no strict requirements, but safety and aesthetic considerations must be taken into account. Several accommodation options are possible:

1. A built-in fireplace design into an external wall is the most difficult method. As a rule, it is implemented during the construction of the house.
2. A wall stove (at a short distance from the wall) is a very convenient location: the fireplace looks aesthetically pleasing, and there is also less risk that it will fall due to accidental contact.
3. Corner is a practical way to use unused space. Thanks to the large area, you can even make a fairly large fireplace stove with your own hands from metal.
4. Standing alone, for example, in the middle of a room, is the rarest case. The disadvantages are associated with the risk of falling, and a stretching pipe will look unsightly.But if you make a special column or false panel, the design will turn out to be quite attractive and will even allow you to zone the space. Suitable for large rooms – halls, living rooms.
5. Positioning it close to the wall - this option should not be considered, because the surface will be covered with soot. If the walls are wooden, there is a serious risk of fire. In addition, when the stove is close to each other, it will be more difficult to care for.

After choosing a place, you need to decide on the dimensions - a metal stove-fireplace with your own hands should fit well into the space, that is, its dimensions should approximately correspond to the area of ​​the room. You can take several drawings as a basis and create your own diagram, proportionally increasing or decreasing the length, width and height.

Materials and tools

An iron fireplace is made from metal sheets. Moreover, thin sheets (0.5-1 mm) are taken for the ash pan, and thick sheets (3-5 mm) are used for the main structure. You will also need the following materials and tools:

• welding machine;
• Screwdriver Set;
• Bulgarian;
• heat-resistant sealant;
• set of brackets for fastening;
• chimney pipe (minimum diameter 20 cm);
• elbow for connecting pipe fragments (if you need to make turns);
• metal corners;
• fungus with a head;
• door with hinges;
• metal slats for legs (minimum diameter 5 cm);
• cement board, bricks or thick chipboard sheets (pedestal);
• basalt wool;
• construction tape;
• grate.

A do-it-yourself metal fireplace insert is assembled in several stages, and you need to start not with the stove, but with the pedestal. After this, iron sheets are cut to appropriate sizes and the fuel compartment is formed.At the last stage, the chimney is assembled.

Step-by-step instruction

Assembling a metal fireplace with your own hands is not difficult - the main thing is to draw up the drawing correctly and follow it exactly at every stage. Knowing how to use a welding machine is also important. The step-by-step instructions look like this:

1. In most cases, the stove is placed next to a wall or in a corner. Since surfaces become very hot, thermal insulation (for example, basalt wool) is first placed on the floor.
2. Install a pedestal from chipboard sheets. A ceramic or fiber cement board is placed on top of it to ensure fire safety.
3. A do-it-yourself steel fireplace poses a danger to walls that are made of flammable materials, including finishing materials (plasterboard, wallpaper). Therefore, the surface is pre-protected with refractory brickwork. You can also lay ceramic tiles or artificial stone - then the wall will look especially beautiful.
4. Next, take the drawings of a metal fireplace with your own hands and begin assembly. The sheets are cut, the side panels are welded, and the walls at the back and front are welded to them. A hole is first cut out in the latter. They also do it below to sprinkle the ash.
5. Sometimes they make a fireplace from a large-diameter pipe with their own hands, if it is of suitable thickness. But the design of their flat sheets is simpler, since it makes it possible to choose any size. To create the bottom, take a thick metal sheet and attach legs to the bottom. They should be small in height within 12 cm and thick at least 5 cm.
6. Using welding, a thick sheet along with legs is attached to the side surfaces - this will be the bottom of the stove.
7. The do-it-yourself fireplace insert made of metal according to the drawings is already ready - all that remains is to make partitions inside the main firebox and ash pan. The firebox itself must be two-layer, so another similar structure of smaller dimensions is formed inside the chamber. This creates an air gap that will prevent the surfaces from getting too hot.
8. A DIY iron fireplace, as shown in the drawings and photos, must have a grate. You can simply buy it or make it yourself using reinforcing bars.
9. Now you need to weld the hinges to the structure to hang the door. Metal corners are welded from the bottom of the combustion chamber (10-12 cm), which will hold the grate.
10. Regardless of how the structure is made - a fireplace from a large diameter pipe or from ordinary iron sheets - it needs a chimney. The top of the firebox is closed with a lid with a pre-made hole corresponding to the diameter of the pipe.

How to make a chimney

The final stage of the work is the creation of a chimney that leads through the wall or roof directly to the street. The design can be straight, but more often it consists of 2-3 bends in a zigzag shape. You make a fireplace made of iron with your own hands by inserting a pipe into a prepared hole in the lid. At the junction of adjacent fragments, they are treated with a heat-resistant sealant. For this, as a rule, basalt wool is used.

The chimney is raised to the roof to a height of at least 50 cm from the ridge. A cap with a fungus is attached to the pipe to prevent precipitation and dust from getting inside. The result is a solid structure - a DIY iron fireplace looks like this schematically.

Then you need to perform a test fire with any firewood to check the tightness of the structure, how the panels heat up, whether there are any foreign odors, and how stable the firebox is. Caring for the stove is not very difficult - ash is removed from the ash pan 1-2 times a month, and the internal surfaces of the firebox are cleaned of soot deposits. As for the chimney, it needs to be cleaned at least once a year.

A do-it-yourself metal fireplace-stove assembled according to the drawings can not only decorate the room, but also become an additional source of heat. All work can be done independently by selecting the right materials and step-by-step following a pre-compiled diagram.