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Fireplace and feature wall

craftyhopper
Making a Splash
craftyhopper
craftyhopper
Making a Splash

 

A plain wall was transformed into an attractive and functional space with a wood heater, bookshelves and stone-clad feature wall.

 

 

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The project

 

This D.I.Y. project was not for the faint-hearted and needed more than just help from my husband. We did the work ourselves but had a plumber sign off on it, which included the flue installation.

 

I bought everything from Bunnings including:

 

  • Scandia wood heater and flue kit

 

  • Timber framing for the fire and bookshelves, and Pine to make the mantel shelf

 

  • Stone cladding which is an external cladding stone from the garden section

 

  • Tiles for the heath, which are 60 x 60 indoor floor tiles

 

  • Fire tool kit.

 

I documented each stage of the build with photos. Here is how it went.

 

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What we learned along the way

 

There were a couple of things that we came up against:

 

  • The most significant challenge came at the design stage. We had to use space from the room behind to house part of the flue. We had to protrude into the other room by about 250mm as I didn't want to compromise on how deep the shelves were or they would have been right up against the window.

 

  • Once we started demolishing the wall and ceiling, we noticed that a roof rafter went straight across where we needed to put the flue, so we had to split it. Luckily my husband is a carpenter and we have lots of builder friends so we knew what we could and couldn't do.

 

  • Once the fireplace was complete, we started the bookshelf using particle board. This was a mistake! The cut edges were really rough so I had to plaster them. It was ok once it was painted, but a lot more work went into it compared to the left bookshelf when we used MDF.

 

  • The wood heater was very heavy. I managed to help get it into the house, but we needed extra help to get it into position in the wall.

 

This project is my favourite renovation achievement. I love the result and it's a great feature.

 

Before and after

 

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Comments
Noyade
Kind of a Big Deal

Very, very impressive! 👍

projectmumdanni
Making a Splash

I love this ❤ I've always wondered, does the TV get hot being above the fireplace? Would love to do something like this in my home?

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Hello @projectmumdanni

 

Let me tag @craftyhopper to make them aware of your kind words. The benchtop on top of the fireplace acts as a heat diffuser. Plus you'll notice that the TV is actually recessed into the wall making it very safe from the heat of the fireplace. If you ever decide to give this project a go, please don't hesitate to post any questions you might have. Our members would be more than happy to provide you with advice and information.

 

Eric

 

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