We did it again!! We added a fireplace to our new build home where there wasn’t one to begin with! This time it is even more exciting because of the fireplace insert we are using! I’ll explain below 😉
If you were here while we were living in our previous home you may have seen our DIY shiplap fireplace. We used an electric insert on this project, which we loved! We added shiplap to the ceiling and built a custom mantel. Such a classic fireplace build and 100’s of Blooming Nest readers have recreated it since!!
Previous home fireplace project
This blog post isn’t going to be as detailed in measurements and instructions. But the photos will do most of the talking!! It was as easy as building the structure and covering it in sheetrock. The most difficult part of this project, for us, was that our ceilings are 18′ tall in the living room!
We began by removing the baseboards! As you can see in the image below, we did a lot of sketching on the wall. we drew out the fireplace insert size and sketched roughly the size that we wanted the structure to be! I am very visual when it comes to planning projects and it helps me so much to see it drawn to scale.
Rather than building scaffolding, we decided to rent a really tall ladder from Home Depot. This made the project pretty challenging, but we finished the ladder work in one day (thanks to the help of my dad!).
We ripped out some sheetrock so that Brett could run a conduit to our “drive through window.”
We built two boxes to secure the studs to. We made sure to center these on the wall and made sure they were level with one another.
We began attaching 2×4’s to the boxes. The more you add, the stronger your structure will be!
We made sure to leave an opening at the bottom so we could frame out to the exact dimensions of our fireplace insert.
From the top of the point I wanted the fireplace to slightly angle in. I just eye balled the angle that I wanted 😉 it ended up being 3 degrees. The exact same angle that we did on our DIY vent hood in the kitchen!
We built another box that was slightly smaller than the first two so that the sides would angle. We added more 2×4’s!
Then we covered the entire structure with sheetrock! It was late at night at this point but we didn’t want to rent the ladder for more than a day so we (they) worked hard!
Brett filled in the gaps in the front of the structure with additional 2 by’s so that when we go to mount a tv or mirror later it will be easy to hit a stud!
Brett built shelves in the “drive through window” that we will use later for tv/cable boxes!!
We covered the living room side with sheetrock! This project has yet to be finished, but on the other side we will finish out the shelves and add cabinet doors! YAY STORAGE!
After adding sheetrock, we framed out exactly where we want our fireplace insert to sit!
I’ll leave you hanging here for now, 😉 READ PART 2 HERE, which includes finish work, paint, mantle, and tile!! READ PART 3 HERE, all about the insert we chose and the space finished and decorated!! YAY!