I always felt like our family room was missing something until the hubby and I built a faux fireplace as the centerpiece for the room. We loved our DIY faux fireplace so much that we decided to install an electric fireplace wall with a TV and mantel. This DIY fireplace wall transformed the space into a comfy, modern family room! The wifi-enabled fireplace from Touchstone Home Products was the perfect addition to this DIY fireplace wall with TV. Keep reading and watch the video to see our DIY Fireplace Build Out!
Demolish or remove items on the wall where you wish to place the fireplace bump-out. In our case, we removed a fake fireplace from the wall, a chair rail, and the baseboards. We also took a TV down that was hanging on the wall.
Mark your measurements on the wall where you want to install the fireplace bump-out. Our bump-out measures 69.6" L x 10" D x 8' H. Our fireplace is 12.5" off the floor and 11" above the fireplace is the mantel. The TV bottom is 7.5" above the mantel. The Mantel is 5.5" on all sides and is 48" from the floor.
Measure and cut the 2 x 4 wood to create a frame.
Build the side frames first and attaching them to the wall with 2x4's in the middle attached to the back wall for extra bracing and stability.
Build the frame for the front.
Check to make sure it fits between the side frames and measure where to build the fireplace insert frame.
Remove the front frame and add the cross braces where the fireplace will sit and tack it in place once again.
Set the fireplace in the opening to check for clearance, if you need to make adjustments just remove the front frame and adjust until the opening is just right.
Complete the rest of the bracing studs for the rest of the wall and secure the front frame in place.
Run the wires for the electrical box and wire the outlets, of course making sure the electricity to the outlet is turned off at the electrical panel.
Install the electrical box for the TV (my hubby did this part because he has electrical experience/training). I recommend figuring out where your TV bracket will be and install the electrical box a couple of inches above the bracket and on the side where the tv connections will be. I chose to install surge protector outlets for a little extra peace of mind even though we have a whole house surge protector.
Cut the drywall for the front. Start with the top and work down and measure where your electrical box/fireplace openings are and cut the opening for these before attaching the drywall.
Once the openings are cut, mark the location of the studs on the front of the drywall to allow for easy attachment with the 1-1/4" coarse drywall screws.
Attach the drywall to the studs. I use the coarse screws over fine thread when attaching drywall to wood. The fine thread should be used if you are screwing the drywall into metal/aluminum studs.
Spray the drywall corner beads with the spray adhesive and attach them to the corners of the bump-out.
Allow the adhesive to dry while you attach the drywall joint tape to all the other joints. Mix your joint compound using your power mixer until you have a consistency of pudding for your initial coat.
Using your mud pan and your 6' mud knife, add mixed joint compound to all the joints that are taped and cover all screw heads and corner beads. Allow to dry and then lightly sand the areas.
Mix a new batch of joint compound to a little thicker than pudding consistency and apply a second coat to even out areas and smoothing rough areas.
Once the new coat has dried, sand again, and if you need to do a third coat of joint compound in some areas now is the time. If it is smooth, then you are ready to paint or add texture and paint. Our walls are textured so I sprayed texture over the new addition.
Paint the new wall. I painted ours, Benjamin Moore Simply White.
Plug the power cord from the fireplace in and then slide the fireplace into position.
Follow the instructions from Touchstone Products Electrical Fireplace to secure it.
Attach the 2 x 4 base for the mantel and slide the mantel on and secure it. (FIREPLACE MANTEL TUTORIAL is coming soon!).
Attach the bracket for the tv to the studs and hang the tv.
Cut your floorboards/baseboards and shoe molding to length using your miter saw, install using a nail gun. My corners are not perfect so I filled them with wood putty and sanded them. Once they are painted, you can not tell there was a gap or they did not line up perfectly.
Caulk the top where the baseboard meets the drywall.