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'Reclaimed Wood' surround for fireplace: DIY Project

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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My wife is killing me.

Multiple home improvement projects at the same time. I'm busy with our glass mosaic, so she decided that the little, decorative, electric fireplace in the guest house needed to be upgraded. Actually she decided the whole place needed a full makeover, with fresh paint, drapery, blah blah blah.

But I get the privilege of making a new fireplace surround out of random reclaimed lumber.

Here is the original 'fireplace' :ermm:
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
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So off to the scrap wood pile I go. Pull out some 2x4s, some 2x2s, some 4x4 redwood, some scrap cedar, etc.

Everything is ripped down to 2x??? Nothing is now bigger than a 2x2, and everything is 2x. But some is 2x1 some is 2x3/4, some is 2x1.25, etc. And all the lengths are random too.

Some left over stain that matches the woodwork in the guest house and some wipe on polyurethane to protect it.

I also built a box. 5' wide. 36" tall. 14" deep. Covered it with 1/4" Durarock cememt board. Cut out a hole for the electric firebox. Cut out a 2nd hole for the satellite TV box and DVD player.
 

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Melensdad

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And as of this morning here is the project. Much more imposing than the cheap pressboard store bought unit that has graced the room. This will be flush to the wall, conceal the electric & cable wires from the entertainment stuff, won't be tippy, will hopefully look good when its done.

You can't really tell in the photo, but the wood is different textures. Some has the smooth side out, some the rough side out. Some have hard edges from being ripped by the saw, some have the softer edges of the factory cut 2x dimensional lumber cuts. Using Liquid Nails and a level I am just glueing the wood to the cement board. BTW the cement board was stained so that any gaps beween the irregular wood don't show through.

The overall effect we are going for will be a casual, but clearly linear piece that has visual weight to anchor the room. Clearly I'm not quite 1/3rd done with the wood cladding.

The guest house is a separate structure, about 150' away from our house, built as part of my workshop, so it's interior does not have to match the Prairie Style interior of our home.

NOT sure what I will make the mantle out of. I don't have any wood big enough to cover it. I've got one nice long board of cedar. I'm thinking I will be going to have to go to the lumber yard and buy some more. I could do a double thick top out of cedar and stack it?
 

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jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
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Neat idea and nice work, but aren't you worried about combustible material being that close to the heat source?
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Neat idea and nice work, but aren't you worried about combustible material being that close to the heat source?

No.

Its just an electric firebox. Doesn't put out a lot of heat. The original design, which has been used for the past couple of winters, had the electric firebox directly in contact with pressboard. This is actually far safer with the firebox is insulated from the wood by cementboard.

But if it was safe enough to use with direct contact with pressboard then this is like wearing a belt and suspenders.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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A bit more progress but I'm done for the day. 23 trips up the stairs after cutting the wood to fit is enough for me. Besides the swimming pool is calling me.
 

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Melensdad

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Front is done. Sides and mantle left to do.

I think I have enough wood laying around for the sides. But I will have to go to the lumberyard for some boards for the mantle.
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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When you're done with that could you do one for me? :whistling:

That is gorgeous. :biggrin:

Hardest part of this thing is going up and down the stairs for each cut. The guest apartment is my garage. I have to go down to make the cuts, go up to fit the wood piece. Measure the next, go down, cut, go back up . . .

I've intentionally used fir, pine, cedar and redwood, randomly mixed. I also have it ripped into several thicknesses, so it seems to make a nice random texture.

I did have to buy some wood for this project, didn't have enough in the scrap pile. So it has not been totally 'free' but its been very affordable. Probably the biggest single outlay will be the wood for the mantel top. That will likely be 3 pieces of 1x cedar boards. Probably 1 that is 1x12, 2 that are 1x6. I already have 1 1x12 but I need about 18" deep and it will need to be thicker than a 1x. So I plan to double stack the 1x lumber, it will be screwed together from underneath. It should be far more stable and less likely to warp or curl than if I used a piece of 2x lumber.
 

Galvatron

Spock and Galvatron < one and the same
I have a stack of reclaimed wood from the roof job i have just done at home,today i will start putting it to good use as i hate wastage.

What you have done is very eye catching, imaginative and looks great:thumb:
 
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