Easy DIY Plaster Fireplace With Electric Insert

An slowly style to build a DIY plaster fireplace on a minor budget using an electrical fireplace insert and Venetian Glaze plaster paint.

Have yous always wished, hoped, together with dreamed for years that a home improvement projection would fall out on a item area of your dwelling house? For me, 1 of those project dreams was a porch fireplace.

Our dorsum porch had this ane beadboard wall section jutted between our brick that once held a mini fridge in addition to TV. But it seemed similar the absolute perfect topographic point for a fireplace, don’t you lot think?

We in conclusion ready out to get in a reality with this DIY plaster fireplace using an electrical insert together with plaster paint to make the entire process slowly.

If yous’re a beginner carpenter, this project is a slap-up 1 to endeavour.

Collectively, it takes nearly a calendar week in addition to totaling around $ane,300 for a fully functional working fireplace.

What is Venetian Plaster?

Traditional Venetian plaster is composed of eco-friendly lime too marble dust creating a iii-dimensional upshot alongside lustrous movement. Applying Venetian plaster requires quite a fleck of practice.

As an alternative to assistance our limited knowledge inwards plaster, Romabio supplied Venetian Glaze to us. It’s a plaster pigment made of Italian slaked lime to salve time in addition to take around of the guesswork. The terminate consequence creates effort alongside a plaster await when applied amongst a trowel.

It’s a good idea to do on flake drywall before using it, merely it doesn’t take almost every bit much of a learning curve every bit real plaster.

DIY Electric Fireplace alongside Plaster Paint

I pulled inspiration from many DIY fireplace ideas, but ultimately we landed on this elementary blueprint with a beautiful DIY fireplace surroundings inspired by Chelsey Freng too Angela Rose.

I’ll share their tutorials for the environment toward the bottom of this post, but the basics of building an easy DIY fireplace frame is fairly straightforward to let all kinds of different styles in the finishing run.

Supplies

• Electric fireplace insert (We are so impressed with this ane that looks so real in addition to is budget-friendly.)
• sixteen 2x4s
• three inch deck screws
• 4 sheets of moisture-resistant purple drywall (We chose this for the damp rated surface area on our porch; measure drywall is fine indoors.)
• Utility knife
• Drywall screws
• Drywall network record
• Corner bead
• Joint compound
• Trowel
• 100 grit sanding pads
• Romabio Microgrip Primer
• Drop textile
• Painters record
• Paint tray
• Paint roller alongside covers
• Mixer drill flake
• Rags
• Romabio Venetian Glaze
• Large paint brush
• Romabio Clear Matte Top Coat
• Brad nails

Tools

• Drill
• Miter saw
• Rotary saw (optional merely helpful)
• Orbital sander
• Brad nailer

Steps

Step one – Build the Sides of the Fireplace Frame

Write down the measurements of the area where yous plan to position your fireplace. Use your electric insert as a lead to make up one’s mind the depth too width yous require for your fireplace frame.

Make a frame for i of the sides using 2x4s (pictured higher up) secured amongst three-inch deck screws.

Step 2 – Frame the Header and Footer

Decide on the tiptop y’all desire for your electric insert to make up one’s mind the pinnacle of your footer securing together more than 2x4s amongst deck screws. Build an identical sized footer parallel to the commencement i y’all installed to role as a platform for the firebox insert after.

Attach two parallel 2×4 boards long the height of the fireplace frame equally a header.

Step 3 – Frame the Electric Insert

Use your electric insert as your lead to decide the size of the opening y’all will take for this step. Build a frame for those dimensions screwing more than 2x4s into the existing frame.

Step 4 – Finish the Fireplace Frame

Finish the residual of the framing with 2x4s built on summit of the insert department to the ceiling. These volition human activity every bit bracing for the drywall side by side.

Step 5 – Hang Drywall

Use a utility knife to cutting the drywall sheets as well as attach them to the fireplace frame alongside drywall screws.

Step 6 – Cut Out Insert Section

Use a utility knife or rotary saw to cutting out the department of drywall for the fireplace insert. A utility knife does but fine for this, simply the rotary saw makes the procedure faster as well as easier, if yous already have 1.

Step seven – Tape the Drywall

Once all drywall is hung, employ meshing record to all of the drywall seams too attach corner bead to the corners alongside drywall screws.

Step eight – Mud in addition to Sand the Drywall

Apply articulation chemical compound liberally and smoothly to the drywall seams in addition to corners. Let it completely dry for 24 hours earlier sanding polish with an orbital sander in addition to 100 grit sanding pad. Repeat the mudding procedure once more with a second coat of articulation compound followed by a 24-hr drying fourth dimension too sanding again.

Step 9 – Prime

Once the drywall is sanded smooth, it’sec time for the fun role! But offset, it needs around grip. Roll on ane-two coats of Romabio Microgrip Primer. Be certain to mix it with H2O using a mixer drill bit according to the instructions on the dorsum of the canister.

We applied 2 coats of primer to cover the regal drywall ameliorate since the primer was rattling thin. Wait nearly a solar day for the primer to fully set earlier moving on to the Venetian Glaze stride.

Step x – Apply Venetian Glaze

I highly recommend practicing the Venetian Glaze application procedure using a flake slice of drywall starting time and so you can become used to it.

We found it was easiest to utilise the get-go coat of plaster pigment alongside a brush on a 1-two square human foot department at a time as well as directly act a make clean trowel over summit of the wet glaze inwards half-moon round move to create the textured plaster look. Hold the trowel every bit a slight angle equally you lot act it over the glaze to command the pressure.

It does not take to live perfect AT ALL! Part of its beauty is its embracing of imperfection. It’second actually fun and a flake of an artistic procedure as you lot go the hang of it.

It’second best to utilise ii-3 coats of the Venetian Glaze. You tin can also slightly dilute it alongside upwardly to v% H2O to make a little contrast in addition to depth from the offset coat.

We used the colour Bianco White, and then it’second hard to run into much contrast inward such a light glaze. With Romabio’sec darker colors, the variation and movement inwards the layered coats of glaze is much more than noticeable.

Step 11 – Finish With a Top Coat

Once the Venetian Glaze plaster pigment is completely dry out, use the Romabio Matte Clear Top Coat.

If we wanted to at this betoken, nosotros could accept but added a finishing cut down to the meridian too bottom of the fireplace, placed the insert, as well as called it done. It’sec a dandy minimalist fireplace idea if that’s your mode.

If you wanted to skip the insert, y’all could merely paint the interior dark and make it a false fireplace.

But nosotros wanted to soften the minimalist modern fireplace look amongst a more intricate surround.

Step 12 – Build a DIY Fireplace Surround

We tin can’t at all have credit for thinking upwardly this beautiful environs, then you lot can refer to Chelsey Feng’s DIY fireplace insert environs tutorial and Angela Rose’sec DIY fireplace mantel and environment tutorial if you want to take this projection a distich steps farther.

We attached i/two-inch x 2-inch cut down to the crown in addition to base of operations of the fireplace amongst a brad nailer to complete it.

Step xiii – Apply Plaster Paint Method to Surround

After edifice, caulking, forest filling, too sanding the surround, nosotros repeated the Venetian Glaze procedure on it.

We didn’t want to run about applying the glaze on the entire fireplace alongside the environment as an obstacle, and so nosotros chose to make the apartment, obviously fireplace starting time. There’sec no correct or wrong fashion if you lot desire to glaze the entire fireplace unit.

Step fourteen – Place the Insert

Once the fireplace was dry out, nosotros plugged inwards the electrical fireplace insert, positioned it within the niche, together with sat back to savor it. I’k and so surprised how real it looks! I dear that it has glass doors too air curtains to go far look even more than convincing.

We can plow it on without estrus simply to enjoy the await of a fire, since it’sec and so blazing hot exterior. But inward the cooler months, it has a low as well as high heater setting that pushes the hot air outward. It also has just about convincing crackle sounds.

You could absolutely construct a fireplace blueprint similar this inward a living room, dining room, or sleeping room too.

Can you lot believe this earlier too subsequently?! I’ve wanted to make a DIY plaster fireplace out hither for and then long it near makes me excited for autumn as well as winter… near. I’k nevertheless a summertime daughter through as well as through.

Have y’all e’er built a DIY fireplace alongside an electric insert earlier? It’sec totally do-able if you lot’re a DIY newbie, I swear.

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