Using stucco to decorate a fireplace

Embedding techniques

When deciding to make a room built-in fireplace portal made of wood, at the preliminary stage, an exact drawing of the future structure is being built.

Installation of an electric fireplace in a wooden partition

When assembling the hearth, it is necessary to calculate its location in advance. A contour is applied to the wall with strict instrumental control of all verticals, horizontals and angles, which will facilitate further activities for installing a portal under the fireplace.

The beginning of work on the manufacture of a niche is the manufacture of a pedestal, which can serve as an MDF sheet with a laminated surface. Its dimensions should be slightly larger than the transverse dimensions of the fireplace portal.

The guides to the wooden wall along the marked lines are attached with self-tapping screws. The entire plane that will be occupied by the structure being erected is covered with a heat-resistant material.

Niche for electric fireplace in the wall

Wooden slats are pre-impregnated with an antiseptic. If it is necessary to fix it to a concrete plane, you will need a perforator, and dowels are purchased as fasteners.

Transverse posts are attached to the guides. The created structure must be rigid. Instead of bars, a metal profile is often taken to create a niche. It remains to sheathe the portal, and the fireplace is ready for further decoration.

In a private mansion, you can gouge a niche in the wall, then run an electric cable. To create an imitation of fireplace portals, the niche perimeter is decorated with platbands, semi-columns and other decorative elements.

Useful tips for decorating a fireplace and portal

Before moving on to the options for finishing the portal, it is worth considering the height of the fireplace, and its width, location.

So the following guidelines will be very helpful to you. In the meantime, consider 3 examples before / after the design of the fireplace portal.

The decoration of the fireplace portal radically changes the interior for the better

Let's move on to the recommendations:

• Fireplace and portal style. They must match. This largely depends on the finish and location.
• Location and size. If the hearth is near the floor, then both a narrow and a wide model will do. But wall fireplaces or those that are raised above the floor should be wide. The exception is island fireplaces, which are not tied to any of the walls.
• The portal is connected with the design of the fireplace and its task is to emphasize this. If the fireplace itself protrudes, then the portal must be on the same level with the fireplace, otherwise all the beauty of an open fire will be lost.
• Proportions. Consider not only the hearth itself, but the space surrounding it. So, for a floor fireplace, you need free space right in front of it. If this is a strain, prefer a wall-mounted model. In addition, the proportions and sizes should be maintained. The classic ratio is when ¾ of the entire height of the portal is occupied by a fireplace and ½ of its width.
• It is not necessary to build a portal in advance without having a real model of the fireplace. It happens that either the dimensions do not correspond to those indicated on the site, or you can simply miss various little things during its installation - wiring, chimney, fastening. And with the design, you can miscalculate in the shade, material. Conclusion - it's easier to deal with a ready-made, already installed fireplace.

And now we will consider the options for finishing the fireplace portal from various materials.

Wooden portal

Wooden fireplace portals look very noble. They are made of valuable wood species, decorated with carvings, gilding, and inlaid with precious stones. Wooden portals for the fireplace add sophistication and comfort to the dwelling. They come in a variety of sizes and styles. In small rooms, corner stoves look very beautiful.

Fireplace portals made of wood have the following advantages:

• heat-resistant coating;
• long service life (especially if expensive wood species were used);
• majesty.

There are wooden portals for the fireplace in different ways. The cost depends on the type of wood.

Polyurethane portal

The polyurethane fireplace portal looks very nice.It is difficult to distinguish it from those products that are made from natural materials.

Polyurethane fireplace portal:

• easy to apply paint;
• when using embossed stucco and gold foil, you can give a royal look to the furnace;
• easy assembly (a portal made of polyurethane is easy to buy and assemble by yourself without the help of specialists);
• fireproof;
• harmless to humans;
• not afraid of liquid;
• durable, strong;
• has a low weight.

The advantages of polyurethane products are many. And the price is relatively affordable (the products are "inexpensive"). Stoves with a polyurethane frontal part look harmonious, they can be decorated in any style. Manufacturing of a portal for a fireplace is also possible under the order as gas stoves for a summer residence.

Dwelling style and portal view

In the modern world, there are several styles. Focusing on the features of a particular proposal, they choose decorative portals for fireplaces.

So:

1. Classical. The most famous and widespread species. Most often this includes: a wooden portal for a fireplace, marble portals for fireplaces. Many people try to decorate them with carvings. Such products add coziness to the house.
2. Country style. The fireplace portal is decorated with natural stones. Also in the country style, fireplace portals made of wood are used. Used wood of inexpensive varieties. The shapes of the furnace and its front part are quite simple.
3. Hi-tech style, representing the direction of modernity. Most often, designers use electric ovens.

An important point is the location of the fireplace in the apartment. Stoves are often installed in the central part of the house. But in the last period of time, corner products for fireplaces have become the most widespread.

Corner items are decorated with folk paintings and stucco moldings. They are installed in the corner of the dwelling and resemble a Russian folk stove. I would like to note that the corner portal is quite popular in European medieval castles.

Features of the purchase and the cost of the service

Fireplace portals are easy to purchase. And if you want an original fireplace, then it is quite possible to place an order. Designers will choose the right style and tell you which material the fireplace portal will look more harmoniously from.

The price depends on the uniqueness of the features of the materials used and the complexity of the work. Here the owner will have to make a choice which portals for the fireplace he wants: made of artificial material (which will imitate natural ones) or real expensive material (natural stone, expensive wood species).

If the choice fell on a product made of artificial material, then you can be offered a portal for a plasterboard fireplace, decorated with modern finishes. Naturally, a natural portal will last much longer than an artificial one.

But the artificial product has a plus: it is much cheaper and, thanks to its use, you can often change the interior in your home. It will be less costly for the owner. Decorative fireplace portals are varied and good.

The price of ready-made fireplaces varies depending on the fame and reputation of the manufacturing company. To date, the cost of the portal is at the level of 120 thousand rubles. up to 280 thousand rubles

How can work go?

There are 2 options for creating a fireplace. The first option is as simple and fast as possible. It implies the purchase of blanks, from which then, like a designer, a ready-made fireplace is assembled. Such blanks can be purchased in many places. For example, you can buy blanks for a home fireplace from Europlast.

The first option has its pros and cons. The advantages include quick and easy assembly.But the main disadvantage is the fact that you can only make a decorative fireplace purely from polyurethane, which will not play the role of a heater (this is due to the material's susceptibility to temperatures exceeding 80 degrees).

If you choose the second option, you will have to do everything yourself: from the drawing to fixing the last part. However, with this approach, additional materials (such as drywall) can be used. If you do the work on the second option, you get a full-fledged fireplace, which will become not only an elegant addition to the interior, but also a good heater.

Plasterboard fireplace portals

electric fireplaces in the apartment

1. First, they choose a place where the fireplace will be located. Be sure to determine the area that will be allocated for the hearth. Based on this, they buy an electric fireplace of the right size. Depending on the type of construction, a rectangular or corner portal for the fireplace will be built. When buying, it should be borne in mind that the portal will take up much more space than the heater itself.
2. When the hearth is purchased, they proceed to the construction of the portal. First, a frame is made of metal profiles. For this purpose, guide profiles are used with dimensions of 27x28 and rack-mountable 60x27 millimeters. It is desirable to attach the frame to the wall. First of all, they make the basis for the podium, and only then - for the fireplace portal itself. A beautiful brick is often chosen for facing the podium. When creating a frame, be sure to take into account that it must be strengthened. For this purpose, a transverse rack profile is fixed in the height and width of the structure with a step of 15-20 centimeters. It is especially necessary to strengthen the fireplace in that part of the frame where the hearth itself will be located.
3. Then they check the size of the electric fireplace and the prepared opening in the frame (read: "Do-it-yourself electric fireplace: just about the complicated"). If the portal for the electric fireplace has a too small opening, then it is expanded. To do this, unscrew the self-tapping screws from the profile, move it to the required distance and fix it again. Therefore, you need to buy a fireplace before equipping a portal for it.
4. After that, the portal under the fireplace is sheathed with plasterboard. To fix the sheets, use black self-tapping screws with fine threads. Their length should be 25 millimeters. The surface of the portal is impregnated with a deep penetration primer and then a decorative layer is applied. Before that, it is advisable to putty drywall. To preserve the corners, it is necessary to protect them with a perforated corner profile.

Corner portal

Fireplaces can be divided according to their location into corner and front ones, which are installed at the center of the wall, they are easier to assemble. The assembly process for corner portals is more laborious due to the design feature. They also differ in the variety of models, styles, quality of materials used. The portal can be built into the wall or stationary, that is, portable, which will allow you to change its location if desired.

The fireplace in the corner takes up much less space and is ideal for small apartments. In addition, the corners of most modern apartments remain empty, and the fireplace will diversify and enrich the interior. The main advantages of corner fireplaces include heating two walls at once, to which it is attached, which provides heating of a larger area of ​​the room. Plus, the product will be viewed from anywhere in the room.

What to make a fireplace portal from

For the manufacture of the portal, many different building finishing materials are used, differing in cost, quality, and service life. To create a frame, metal profiles and wooden beams are used. The following materials are used for cladding:

1. Stone, artificial or natural. Among all types of stone fireplace portals, the highest quality are those made of natural stone such as granite, basalt, marble. Other stone options are less practical because they have some disadvantages. Some types are not recommended for use in the construction of fireplaces, since they deteriorate over time under the influence of high temperatures, others have the property of absorbing dust and dirt, which leads to deterioration of the appearance, they require periodic restoration, which consists in treating the surface with varnish. The stone is an environmentally friendly material. It is not susceptible to melting, does not emit toxic substances and will last for many years. For fireplaces, both volumetric stone elements and in the form of slabs and blocks are used. The only drawback is the rather high cost of such fireplaces.
2. Ceramic tiles, which belong to the varieties of stone products, have heat-resistant properties, great wear resistance, do not create problems during installation, and are easy to care for.
3. Brick is usually used as an independent support material that does not require an additional frame. It can be decorated with any material, it is durable. Refractory bricks are preferred.
4. Wood is great for any type of interior. Portals made of natural wood look very solid, luxurious, and at a cost much cheaper than stone products and much lighter. Although the price of the material will depend on the type of wood. The material is easy to assemble, easy to maintain, subject to restoration (coating with paints or varnishes). Before construction, the tree must undergo mandatory processing with special refractory, protective compounds, which will increase fire safety and extend its service life.

A variety of wood materials that are used to decorate fireplace portals are:

1. Sheets of plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, for which additional processing is required before applying a decorative layer: plastering, priming.
2. Drywall must also undergo additional primer treatment.
3. Lacquered parquet board does not require additional processing and the use of an additional decorative layer.
4. Cast iron. This material is used as finished cast products that can be decorated, built into the wall or used as an independent decorative element.
5. Polyurethane is a synthetic substance, the scope of which is quite wide. In the construction of fireplaces, it is used as a decorative element - stucco molding, as well as ready-made fireplace modules, consisting of a base, a frame on which the stucco molding is attached, and countertops. Polyurethane has increased resistance to high temperatures and fires, does not emit toxic substances when heated. Among the advantages of this material, one can also note flexibility, strength, low weight, ease of installation, dielectric properties. It can be washed, repainted with confidence. Polyurethane is distinguished by a variety of models that imitate any material: brick, stone, wood.

Drawing Tips

As mentioned above, before starting all work, it is necessary to measure the area where the fireplace is planned to be placed. Then you need to make a drawing. When creating a drawing, it is recommended to follow these principles:

• the support of the fireplace should be slightly longer than its upper shelf (for example, the length of the lower part may be 160 cm, and the upper part - 150 cm);
• the height of the lower pedestal should be between 15 and 20 cm;
• the total height of the structure should be up to one and a half meters (so that the fireplace does not look too bulky);
• the height of the side panels that can be set aside for the "columns" should be 60-80 cm;
• the fireplace portal should look like a rectangle, but the lengths of the sides should differ slightly (by a maximum of 15 cm);
• between the top of the fireplace portal and the top of the entire structure there should be something like another pedestal (its height should be 20-25 cm);
• the thickness of the upper shelf of the fireplace should be small (up to 10 cm).

Buy or build yourself

As we said above, you can buy a finished product in a store, bring it home and install it in the right place. After decorating, you will have an excellent polyurethane false fireplace, which will become the center of attention in the room, its main highlight.

For lovers of handmade, there are also no obstacles, because it is not difficult to make a decorative fireplace from this material with your own hands. To do this, you should go through the following stages of work:

• First of all, you need to draw a plan of the fireplace portal on paper, make a drawing. The main thing here is to accurately establish the dimensions of the future product, which will help to correctly navigate the terrain and purchase the required amount of materials.
• At the second stage, you need to prepare the site for construction, level the walls and floor as needed.
• Next, we stock up on tools and materials. In the process of work, you will need a saw, a miter box, a tape measure, a level, a pencil, polyurethane glue, spatulas, sandpaper, a screwdriver, screws, plugs.
• Work should begin with the preparation of the elements of the fireplace, which are sawn from pieces of polyurethane in accordance with the specified dimensions.

Next, the structure itself is assembled, the elements are attached to each other using suitable glue and self-tapping screws, depending on their location

Before gluing the parts, it is important to prepare, clean and degrease them. When assembling, attention must be paid to the level of the structure and its corners so that the frame turns out to be even. After assembling the frame, it is putty, to bring it to an optimal state, and then finishing. A stucco molding made of polyurethane, specially made for fireplaces, is used as a finishing material. The stucco molding is glued to the portal with a special glue.

A stucco molding made of polyurethane, specially made for fireplaces, is used as a finishing material. The stucco molding is glued to the portal using special glue.

Press it to the base with a uniform force. If desired, the finished structure can be painted. Painting will hide all traces of assembly, joints, fasteners. It is best to use acrylic paints for painting. In principle, two layers will suffice. After finishing the outer part of the false fireplace, you should proceed to the inner one. The firebox is decorated to your taste, if desired, the necessary equipment is built into it. Fireplaces with candles inside look great, at least designers love such variations very much.

There are no big difficulties with the construction of a polyurethane fireplace portal, the main thing is to consistently and carefully perform all the work.

In conclusion, I would like to note that a polyurethane false fireplace is an excellent decorative structure, the construction of which is not so labor-intensive, but the effect of the presence of such a structure in an apartment is difficult to overestimate. Create a cozy and comfortable atmosphere at home with these fixtures.

Perfect K3003 PU fireplace portal

Decorative fireplace made of polyurethane Europlast 1.64.004, e.

Wooden portal for the fireplace Real-Flame Torino WT

Wooden portal for the fireplace Real-Flame Dacota AO

Perfect K3004 PU fireplace portal

Perfect K3001 PU fireplace portal

Fireplace portal "Deko" (J-Line (Belgium))

Portal InterFlame Aspen for fobos / Majestic foci (beige / b.

Perfect K3002 PU fireplace portal

Fireplace portal Rectangular Irises art. 40.00779.00.

Portal for fireplace made of polyurethane Decomaster DG-8401

Wooden portal for the fireplace InterFlame Rimini under the hearth.

Decorative fireplace made of polyurethane Europlast 1.64.004, e.

Foam fireplace KM001 (1pc)

Decorative fireplace made of polyurethane Europlast 1.64.004, e.

Decorative fireplace made of polyurethane Europlast 1.64.004, k.

Corner portal Electrolux Forte Classic U

Fireplace portal Real Flame Sofie 26 AO

Fireplace portal Real Flame Izabella 33 DN / WT

Wooden portal for the fireplace Real-Flame Torino WT

Furnace door Meta 505x480 mm DK-555-1S

Fireplace portal Real Flame Salford 33 AO

K3004 fireplace portal (top) Perfect

Wooden portal for the fireplace InterFlame Regent under Foto.

Fireplace portal "Europlast" 1.64.004 + 1.64.005 (comp.

Portal InterFlame Madeya beige

Stone portal Real Flame ATHENA under the classic hearth.

Wooden portals

Carved wooden portals have been made for a long time. Often they are used to decorate brick wood-burning fireplaces. With this solution, each wooden element undergoes a special treatment, which consists in impregnating the material with special fire retardant compounds. Also, all wooden parts, in the presence of an open flame, are placed as far as possible from the active part of the hearth.

Most of the options for wooden portals are selected exclusively from photo catalogs and ordered only individually. Of course, such options, made according to an exclusive project, will cost significantly more than serial counterparts.

Which finishing material to choose?

Brick

Brick finishing of the portal is suitable for interior in country style, Provence, loft.

Finishing bricks must be of high quality, without chips and cracks. It is preferable to use grade 200 and above.

The color is selected both for the fireplace itself and for the style of the living room - white, red, red-orange, etc.

Do you want to make a brick portal yourself? The video will help you with this.

A natural stone

Expensive interiors - classics, empire, baroque, modern, the fireplace portal should also correspond.

Marble, granite and other durable, beautiful rocks - such a stone is used to decorate the fireplace.

A marble fireplace is expensive, a cobblestone fireplace is original.

There are subtleties in working with this material.

• The weight. It is significant, therefore, before installing the fireplace, it is necessary to strengthen the floor under it. The foundation should be several centimeters wider than the width of the portal and the depth of the fireplace.
• It is durable, beautiful, fireproof, almost eternal.
• Large pieces of stone may fall off during installation, so use hooks.

This is an expensive material, but the result is worth it.

Fake diamond

If you are confused by the weight or cost of natural stone, you can take an artificial one. In terms of beauty and quality, it is almost as good as natural material.

Decorative stone portal. Find 5 differences.

Artificial stone is mounted on a frame and a construction mesh. But the strengthening foundation is not necessary. When purchasing material, make a stock of 10-15%. It will be needed to finish the corners, frieze, possibly shelves above the fireplace.

The beauty of finishing the portal with artificial stone is that it has enough variations in color, structure, texture. At the same time, it does not emit toxic gases and unpleasant odors when heated, since it is made from ecological materials.

And do-it-yourself styling is within the power of everyone. Doubt? Video instruction to help you.

Drywall

The plasterboard portal will fit into modern interiors. His styles are hi-tech, art deco, minimalism.

For such a design, you will need a frame to which the drywall sheets will be attached. Subsequently, the portal is covered with paint, mosaic, plaster, artificial stone, modeling.

Wood

For decoration, you can use both wooden panels and carved wood from a solid array. In the first case, the fireplace will fit into the loft, modern, country style. In the second case, it will become a decoration of the classic interior.

Fireplaces made from solid wood or from parquet boards are equally environmentally friendly.

You can lay out the fireplace from a parquet board or sheathe it with clapboard. If you are using wood, do not hide its texture.The more noticeable the smoothed knots, annual rings, the more beautiful and unusual the portal will turn out.

Ceramics

Ceramic fireplace cladding is neat, practical and versatile. Such a portal is suitable for both natural and artificial fireplaces.

The basis for the portal is a frame made of chipboard and a profile. And the finish itself resembles laying tiles in the bathroom or in the kitchen - mortar or glue, beacons, grout.

Plaster molding

If there is already a ready-made portal, then gypsum elements are attached to it - cornices, semi-columns, moldings, pilasters.

Note that plaster molding is quite heavy. Therefore, the frame must be strong to support this weight.

Polyurethane molding

In a modern interior, a polyurethane analogue of gypsum stucco molding is allowed.

True, it is advisable to use it only in false fireplaces. An open fire can not only destroy this beauty, but also cause a fire.

Plaster

If the fireplace is built into the wall, then the portal finish is not complicated and is similar to the usual wall decoration.

Portal finishing with plaster - Space for imagination

It's another matter if the hearth is wall-mounted or angular. You will need a base, that is, a frame on which the "fur coat" will be applied. The advantage of plastering is that after drying, the portal can be painted in any color, stencil applied.

You can decorate the portal with plastic panels, sheathe with sheet metal, and paste over with wallpaper. But the task is to create a worthwhile interior that characterizes the good taste of the owners and gently emphasizes their position.

So such materials will visually reduce the cost of the interior, but you do not strive for this.