Stylized interior design is the direct task of professional designers. But this type of work attracts amateurs more and more, especially with the wide variety of building materials and tools that are available today. More and more often you can see articles about how to do certain jobs with your own hands. The answers to these questions are in most cases so simple that there is a desire to immediately begin implementing ideas.
Electric fireplaces have occupied a certain niche in the market for designer room decorations. Depending on the style idea according to which the hearth or its frame is made, this design can emphasize any main direction of the interior decoration of the room. To make a portal for an electric fireplace with your own hands, you need to consider not only technical issues. Therefore, we will present not just step-by-step instructions, but a sequence of actions from the very beginning to the finish of the work.
Original MDF structure
What are and types of fireplace portals
An electric fireplace portal is a decorative frame located around the firebox. Inexpensive store-bought fireplaces are usually compact in size. Although they look quite attractive in the interior, it is difficult to create the most comfortable atmosphere with their help.
Making a frame for an electric fireplace with your own hands is a fairly easy task. Before you begin, please note that there are several types of frames that differ in style and size. The following groups are conventionally distinguished:
- wall-mounted - products rarely have more than 45 cm in depth and are located along the wall;
Wall portals are well suited for spacious rooms - corner - models are used in small rooms; they have a non-standard triangular shape;
Corner portals for electric fireplaces have spacious countertops - antique-styled - such products are usually decorated with columns and stucco moldings during production;
Antique portals are made of stone or wood or plastic that imitates these materials - in high-tech style - frames fit perfectly into a modern interior, are multi-functional and have a large number of shelves;
High-tech portals may contain disk compartments, additional drawers and even safes - in the style of minimalism - glass and metal are used to make products, the designs are distinguished by their versatility and strict lines;
Minimalist portals fit into almost any interior - in a medieval style - the main material is stone or its imitation, red brick and cobblestones.
Portals for electric fireplaces in medieval style look good in lofts and rustic interiors
Before making a frame for an electric fireplace with your own hands, you need to study the features of the room. The hearth should fit harmoniously into the environment and not look like an alien spot against its background.
Drawings and dimensions of portals for electric fireplaces
Before making a frame for an electric fireplace with your own hands, you need to measure the length and width of the room and imagine how the product will look in the interior. You can find many drawings with dimensions on the Internet. However, you need to focus primarily on the dimensions of a particular room.
The height of the portal for an electric fireplace should be 2-3 times greater than the hearth itself
If in small rooms it is recommended to install corner or narrow structures, then in a spacious living room the structure can be made wider. But if the frame is located in line with the furniture, it should not protrude forward.
Before making the portal, you can make a full-size mock-up and make sure that the structure will not interfere with the passage
It is also recommended to draw drawings before making the product yourself for reasons of economy. In this case, it will be easier to calculate the required amount of materials, and during the work it will not become clear that there are too few or too many of them.
Electric fireplace built into the wall
- Gives the room coziness and warmth.
- They do not require complex installation like a brick oven.
- Can be easily installed in a finished room, without disturbing the ceiling beams and flooring.
- No approval from the relevant authorities is required, even when installed in an apartment.
- Variety of functions and sizes.
- Safety.
Built-in electric fireplaces are widely popular; they can be mounted into a wall, portal, furniture or any niche. The realism of the flame is not inferior to a real live fire, while the unit does not create dirt, soot and does not require additional protection from sparks. And if you choose a mini-model, you can easily install it on the surface of furniture.
You can choose an electric stove as a convenient element of your interior. Overheating protection is available in all electric fireplaces. Models with an installed thermostat automatically turn on and off, maintaining the set temperature in the room.
Among the large selection of electric fireplaces, you can find purely decorative models that do not have a heating function. But still, the bulk of the offered built-in imitations of a fireplace insert work on the principle of a fan heater with spiral heating elements. Less commonly found on sale are electric fireplaces with quartz tubes that emit heat. Fireplaces with LCD screens have several image programs, but the cost of such a device is much higher, although the image is more realistic and more voluminous.
The microcomputer controls the change of images on the screen.
What tools and materials will be needed
What material to use to make the frame for a new electric fireplace yourself depends on personal preferences and capabilities. The most popular is plasterboard. You can also create a portal from wood, laminated parquet boards, plywood, chipboard and MDF.
In addition to materials, the following tools will be required to make the product:
- screws for wood and metal;
- jigsaw and screwdriver;
- primer and putty;
- high temperature resistant paint;
- ruler and pencil for marking;
- wood glue;
- sandpaper;
- metal corners.
For cladding, you can additionally prepare gypsum, artificial stone or natural chips.
Niche thermal insulation
We have a good article about why thermal insulation is needed for a biofireplace, as well as a niche for it - we recommend reading it. In a nutshell, if the niche is made of porcelain stoneware or marble, you don’t need to insulate anything additional, but if it’s made of flammable materials, both the niche and the bio-fireplace itself need thermal insulation.
“Kronco has built-in bio-fireplaces with already integrated thermal insulation, so you don’t have to invent anything”
How to make a portal for an electric fireplace from plasterboard with your own hands
Drywall is especially popular in the manufacture of portals for electric fireplaces. The material is cheap and easy to cut into sheets of the required thickness. The design creation scheme looks like this:
- In accordance with the selected drawings, a rigid frame is constructed from a metal profile. It must be stable, without play, and able to withstand significant weight.
If the portal for an electric fireplace is narrow, for reliability it should be secured to the wall - Using metal self-tapping screws, sheets of drywall are attached to the assembled frame. The seams remaining after the manufacture of the body must be puttied, and a seam mesh and metal corners must be installed on them. After the mixture has dried, the joints are treated with fine-grain sandpaper to remove unevenness.
Strengthening the corners gives the portal for the electric fireplace a clearer outline and increases its strength - A purchased electric fireplace is installed in a prepared niche and put into operation. It is recommended to make a hole for the power cables in advance on the back wall so that the wires do not have to be routed through the front part of the structure.
Before making a portal from plasterboard, it is especially important to take accurate measurements of the hearth and make a niche for it in size
At the last stage, all that remains is to decorate the portal to your taste. The electrical hearth is removed from the niche, after which the drywall is covered with putty, plaster or paint. You can also cover the structure with artificial stone and even decorative relief wallpaper.
Attention! If the electric fireplace has a heating function, you must first make sure that it does not heat up to a high temperature.
Built-in electric fireplace - installation instructions
If there is a need for additional heating of an apartment or private house, purchase a modern wall-mounted electric fireplace with a heating function. To increase productivity and heat transfer, fans are installed inside the device, increasing the intensity of the circulation of convection currents. An electric built-in fireplace with a living flame effect, does not heat up, and is completely safe. Modern models imitate the combustion process so well that, in addition to the sound and appearance of burning wood, they even reproduce the pleasant odors of burning wood.
The difference between the internal installation of an electric fireplace and the front one lies in the location and installation of the structure. In the first case, only the portal protrudes from the wall; all the filling is located in a specially made niche in the wall. The heating efficiency of built-in electric fireplaces is greater. Frontal models are mainly used as one of the decorative elements. As practice shows, it is better not to buy an electric fireplace without a thermostat.
A switched-on electrical appliance will heat the air as long as it is connected to the power supply. The built-in thermostat will turn off the heating as soon as the air heating parameters in the room reach the desired temperature. Thanks to the principle of operation and safety used, the built-in electric fireplace has become widespread as a decorative element and a source of additional heating.
Modern electric fireplaces are divided into several classes: by type of installation, internal structure and purpose.
How to make a portal for an electric fireplace from wood with your own hands
You can make a homemade portal for an electric fireplace from wood with your own hands. The advantages of the material are its durability and strength. A wooden portal with a strong tabletop can simultaneously serve as a stand for massive objects.
Making the frame is done as follows:
- A rectangular frame of the product is constructed from timber about 4 cm thick. The individual slats are fastened together with screws and corners; the structure should be as strong and reliable as possible.
When making the frame, it is recommended to make the base raised so that the hearth is not located near the floor - Wide wooden boards or MDF sheets are attached to the frame. If the material is light, you can use wood glue, but it is better to resort to self-tapping screws - they will ensure reliable fixation. The attachment points are masked using plugs.
It is recommended to use cherry, pine and other soft inexpensive species in the manufacture of frames for an electric fireplace. - The electric fireplace is placed in a niche and the wires are passed through a hole previously made in the back wall. At the last stage of work, the portal is decorated with artificial stone or covered with acrylic varnish. You can also create an artistic pattern on the surface of the wood.
You can cut longitudinal strips on the sides of the wooden portal or attach thin slats to mark the columns
When making a portal, it is recommended to use fire-resistant impregnations. The wood is processed first until the frame is constructed, and then the finished product is coated with liquid again. Even if an electric fireplace does not get too hot, it is important to reduce the risk of fire to a minimum.
Advice! It is recommended to line a niche in a wooden product from the inside with a material that shields heat.
Frame assembly
The variety of shapes and designs of fireplace portals does not allow the use of a single step-by-step instruction for their installation. Each specific case will have its own nuances of assembly work. But their general course is as follows:
- Marking is carried out: the position of the guide profiles forming the contour of the portal and firebox is marked on the floor and walls.
- The base of the rear plane of the niche, consisting of two vertical posts and two horizontal crossbars, is attached to the wall using dowels. They are made from a guide profile. The height of the lower crossbar is equal to the rise of the podium on which the fireplace will be located.
- Guide profiles are attached to the wall to limit the space of the combustion chamber.
If the firebox has a curved shape, then the profile will also need to be curved. This is easy to do if you cut the guides at certain intervals. Another option is to use a flexible profile.
- The guides are fixed to the floor.
- The front struts are installed. They are connected to the rear ones by crossbars, the size of which determines the depth of the future fireplace. The position of the elements is controlled using a level and fixed with self-tapping screws.
- The pedestal posts are attached in the same way and tied using horizontal crossbars.
- At the final stage, the external arches of the firebox and other horizontal lintels necessary to impart rigidity to the structure are installed.
The following video will help you visualize the frame assembly process more clearly.
How to make a portal for an electric fireplace from plaster with your own hands
If you want to make a lush portal in an old style for an electric fireplace, you need to use plaster. The material is characterized by high strength and good ductility, it is fireproof and does not emit toxic compounds when heated. From plaster you can create three-dimensional figures of almost any complexity.
To cladding an electric fireplace with your own hands, you need to use the following algorithm:
- A standard frame is constructed from metal profiles and plasterboard. When making a product, gypsum is used only for decorative purposes. The base must be strong and geometrically smooth.
Gypsum is a fairly light material, so it is well suited for fixing to plasterboard portals - Gypsum is diluted with water to the desired consistency. To obtain a thick mass, add 500 ml of liquid per 1 kg of material, for a solution of medium density - about 700 ml for the same amount of powder.
The gypsum must be mixed as thoroughly as possible, it is best to use a construction mixer - Patterns are preliminarily drawn on the surface of the portal. The prepared gypsum mixture begins to be evenly applied to the base, forming depressions and hills along the contours. Excess solution is immediately removed.
You need to work with plaster quickly, as it sets in just 10-15 minutes
When making decorative volumetric stucco molding for an electric fireplace, it is recommended to use pouring molds. In this case, frozen decorations are glued to the surface of the frame using a special composition.
Attention! Sanding the plaster with sandpaper with your own hands is carried out after it has completely hardened after a couple of days.
Niche for end biofireplace
Here, in principle, the same thing - if the dimensions of the end fireplace are more than 2000 mm, then take care of the reliability of the design; you cannot get by with just a metal profile; you need stronger profiles.
Niche for end biofireplace
Check out our bio fireplaces
Tabletop bio-fireplaces Floor-standing bio-fireplaces Built-in bio-fireplaces Fuel blocks Wall-mounted bio-fireplaces
How to make a corner portal for an electric fireplace with your own hands
Assembling a portal for a corner-type electric fireplace is no more difficult than making a regular frame. You need to follow simple instructions:
- Profiles for the frame are marked in accordance with the drawings and cut with scissors or a hacksaw. The elements are connected to each other with self-tapping screws, tightening the fastenings securely, but not too tightly.
When making a corner electric fireplace, the base can be made wider than usual, by about 30 cm - Drywall is cut according to sketches and the frame is sheathed with sheets. In a convenient place, immediately make a hole for the electrical cables of the indoor fireplace.
When fastening drywall, screw heads should be slightly recessed to make them easier to disguise - After making the frame with your own hands, the seams are reinforced with reinforcing tape and perforated corners, then plastered. When the material has dried, apply the first layer of putty, and after it hardens, apply the second. If desired, you can cover not only the corners, but also the entire portal with the mixture.
A couple of days after applying the putty to the frame, the surface is properly sanded
When making a corner frame with your own hands, you must constantly fit the electric fireplace to the niche provided for it. It will be quite difficult to redo the design if a discrepancy in size is discovered at the last stage.
We mount sheets
This is perhaps the easiest part of our work. Each drywall element that we will attach to the frame should be accurately marked and cut using a construction knife. If you can’t make the cut evenly, you can use a strip or ruler along which you can draw the blade.
As soon as one side of the sheets is cut, we break the drywall in this place so that it cracks exactly according to our mark. Next, we separate the required piece with our own hands and get the trim piece. We carefully level the edge along which the workpiece broke off with a construction knife, removing all irregularities. It is important to do this as accurately as possible, especially in places where parts join together. This way you can avoid huge seams that will be difficult to fill with putty.
Which is better: heated floors or radiators?
Warm floorBatteries
The ends of the drywall are aligned
When the blanks are ready, we begin to install them in place. To do this we will use self-tapping screws and a screwdriver. The distance from the edge of the drywall to the place of twisting should not be more than 20 mm. We leave a gap of 20 cm between the screws themselves, which will give us a strong and high-quality fastening.
Recommendations
When producing a portal for an electric fireplace, several important nuances should be taken into account:
- The frame for the device is built with your own hands only after purchasing the latter. You cannot start making a portal before purchasing a fireplace; the risk of making a mistake with the dimensions is too great.
- Electrical wires coming from the device must be placed in plastic cable channels. This is required by fire safety regulations.
- You can place household items and decorative elements on the mantelpiece. But it is necessary to take into account their total mass and structural strength. Plasterboard products are less resistant to stress than wood.
An electric fireplace should not be left on unattended. Even if fire-resistant materials were used in the manufacture of the frame and all rules were followed, the device is still started for a short time and its condition is monitored.
Planning stage
It is worth noting that a self-made portal for an electric fireplace is stationary and cannot be adjusted or altered in the future. Therefore, it is very important to make the correct calculations and dimensions so as not to suffer from design flaws later.
Drawing
To avoid design errors, you should create a drawing. Using it you can correctly make markings for the fireplace and assemble the frame of the portal and base.
Tabletop
The tabletop is a lid that covers the portal. Factory-made products from artificial stone look the most impressive - they are commercially available. But if you wish, you can use an alternative option, for example:
- Order a tabletop made of MDF with plastic cladding.
- Make this element from a solid board, which can then be colored or brushed and varnished.
Tabletop above the fireplace
You can use plywood by gluing several sheets together, or using one thick one. This countertop is decorated with ceramic tile cladding.
Many people make portals for fireplaces with their own hands. This allows you to save a lot on decor and give the fireplace a unique look.
Recommendations for making burners for a biofireplace with your own hands can be found at the link.
You will find instructions for making a portal for a fireplace from plasterboard here:. Portal drawing and decoration tips.
