Fireplace Makeover

Just moved in and this above was just not going to work. If you look close it has cracks in it repaired half a**ed. It's the focal point in the room. We were getting new carpets so, I decided to tackle the FP before they were installed.

I used $2 wood strips and concrete nails. I hammered them in at the mortar joints, then took down the mantle and used a grinder to take off/out some bricks to make room for electrical.

I went to a local landscaping place and picked up pieces of slate. I needed to cut some with a grinder. The hearth I made myself using 2 of the slabs. I needed to do in it stages, but it turned out ok. I used mortar to set them in place.

The shiny look in this picture is just from a soap wash, but I obtained the look later by using Murphy's Tung Oil. (found a video on youtube.)

I ran all my electrical and set up for TV and surround sound and the box I needed to build to hold up my system. I spray painted the strips black in case I ran into any gaps in the wood so they would not see through.

Went to Lowes and bought 20 pieces of 3 different sizes of pine. All 8 foot in length. I got 6 different stains and stained each piece. I then started to install them completely random. Put up pieces up in lengths of 2 ft to a full 8 ft pieces. Used a chop saw to cut to desired length. just went with it and eyed up the colors.

The black spot on the bottom was a test to see if I was going to use paint or wood on the bottom. I ended up using wood.

I used a brad nailer to attach each piece. This will be an easy dismantle in the future if I decide to do that.

Yup, that is an air return in the picture for my heater. Odd place for it right? Just my creative side...I made these two doors to match the wall. The box also functions as storage for remotes or anything.

I only used regular stain without the poly. After the wall was up I coated it with one coat of poly to give it a little shine.

The fireplace insert on Ebay was like $350..ya no thanks, I'm on a budget. I used sandpaper to scuff the brass and sprayed it with high heat black. looks ok.

Final...thanks for looking! Edit.... For all the questions on the safety of the TV. I did hours of research on youtube and google and I found no solid answer on "don't do it or do it" As I mentioned on some of the comments below Ebay sells a heat deflector for above the hearth but after several test fires with the FP insert I found 99% of the heat gets pushed outward. Little escapes the insert and pushes upward towards the TV. I live in a climate where I probably burn fires from December to March. So even that 1% of heat that might actually hit the TV in these few months (IMO) will not hurt it. Thanks oh..and I'm an Eagles fan.

Final again but a lil too much sunlight...sorry! Edit..... I had to include this comment from Mochamjt for those who keep asking about the chance of the wood catching fire. "If you really think about it, as difficult as it is too start a fire in the fire box, it would be even more difficult to start the wood on fire that is surrounding the fire box. You would have to hold something burning right on it." Well said Mocha....thanks

**Update. 4-27-17 The cold season is over. We burned probably 25+ fires. TV is going strong and the house is still standing. lol

pallet wall GONE! same wall 2022. enjoy