Fireplace Makeover

June 19, 2018 in DIY

When you walk into the house the fireplace is a major focal point and desperately needed a makeover! It took some time to fully decide how I wanted it to look. But after working it out in sketches and renderings we had a good direction. It needed to be simple, tie into the house and be appealing since it’s one of the first things you see. Well, it met all the requirements and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

Check out this before and after!

Building the new fireplace:

First, I sketched out some ideas, keeping in mind how it would be constructed. I took those sketches and worked on a model rendering it to scale. We then went to buy all the materials. This included a new table saw for my husband Kevin, any excuse for him to buy a new power tool… men!

Next, a little demo of ALL the existing moldings. To remove any kind of molding whether it’s on your fireplace, around your windows, or anywhere… you should always score around it first with a utility knife. This prevents it from peeling off any of the paint or drywall around it. After all the molding was removed we patched, spackled, and sanded.

Then, construction began. We started by constructing the lower boxes with 3/4″ MDF. Then applied the 1/4″x 1-1/2” trim. For the mantle we used a 2×6 board constructed in 3 pieces which we connected with pocket screws, using a Kregg Jig. For the trim always think a step ahead: What size crown, base, quarter round/ shoe molding, any extra trim layers? You need to account for these when you’re attaching the “first layer” of trim. After the lower half of the mantle was secured we filled all the holes and let dry, then moved onto the upper half.

When building things around a house, even a new house, keep in mind that to the eye everything might appear to be even, flat, straight, level and smooth. But it’s not, as much as builders try to install flooring and drywall level it’s impossible. Just expect that it’s not and think about how you’ll work around it. Your options are to scribe where it bows, measure where it is level and build accordingly.

For the upper half, we framed in the area with 1×4 boards miter cut. We left space at the top for the crown at the ceiling. Then added the “shiplap”, 1/2×3 boards spaced 2 nickels apart. (See picture below) For the shiplap to fit equally and fill the space correctly it took just a little math and planning. Take in account the height of the opening, the amount of boards you want, the total thickness of the gaps. It takes a little planning to make it fit perfectly!

Finally, we added all the crown molding. The different sizes of crown used were 5” crown at the ceiling, 3” crown under the mantle, and 2” crown on the lower posts. When installing crown molding you might need blocking behind to keep stable, add extra support, or for a guide.

After it was all built we filled all holes, sanded, spackled, then sanded some more. Then finally painted. We used 636652 Extra White (the paint base color), HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Ovation Interior Paint and Primer in Semi-gloss. The whole room is painted Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey SW7029, we used HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Showcase Interior Paint and Primer in Satin. This is a Greengard certified paint. In a later post I’ll talk about the importance of using low/ no VOC paints. Here are a few pictures before we painted: