How to build an Electric fireplace wall DIY style.
After putting an electric fireplace into the wall during the renovation of our last house, I decided we definitely needed one in this house as well.
Installing an electric fireplace is actually pretty easy to do and give off a fun ambience to the entire room. Plus adding in the element of the mantel creates architectural detail in our space that was flat and sadly blank feeling beforehand. I adore how ours came out and have been using it quite often to cozy up next to.
You can create this look with so many options, it’s sure to fit into any room or space you might want to try it in.
Plus… it ups the value and appeal of our master bedroom space for our own enjoyment & will get us a better price when we resell one day. Always a win-win in my book!
Installing An Electric Fireplace With Heat Vent
Part of the fun of having a fireplace is the element of heat. You can purchase electric fireplaces to install with or without a heat vent.
This is the one we used in our last 2 installs and it has a heat vent in the front.
This is great because it makes the fireplace not just pretty to look at, but functional for warming the space too! I have been pleasantly surprised at how well ours works to heat up our room.
One VERY IMPORTANT thing about installing a an electric fireplace with a heat vent is that the heat will need to escape! If you close in the heat vent it will likely start a fire and that would be awful.
Some fireplaces are sold with the heat vent on top, which means you’d have to build your mantel around that. Ours was on the front which works great for going into a wall type design.
How To Place Your Electric Fireplace
To give the look of a built in fireplace you are going to either need to build it into a wall or build a wall around it to make it look built in.
This second option is what we chose to do in this house since we had no other reason to open up the wall behind it.
You’ll need to place your electric fireplace near an outlet or have an electrician come to hard wire it into the circuit behind the wall. We had an outlet directly under where we wanted to build this out that worked perfectly for us.
The first step is going to be to place your new electric fireplace on the wall securely.
How To Build A DIY Electric Fireplace Frame
Next we built out the frame around the fireplace using 2×4’s to frame it out. Basically we are building out a faux wall that will come to the edge of the fireplace and allow for it to be built into a larger piece.
I’ve seen these types of electric fireplaces put up on walls before without this surround and they always look incredibly out of place to me. Even though it’s a bit of work, I think the process is worth it to have a truly built in looking piece.
You’ll want the depth of the wall you build to come right behind the front facade of the fireplace, leaving just enough room for drywall to be installed.
Drywall, Mud & Paint
To close up the space we used simple drywall, joint tape, mud and paint. Because we are working with a simple square structure here the cuts were easy and we were able to cut out a rectangle for the fireplace so the front would be one solid piece, making our taping job that much easier.
We then did a few more cuts for the sides and it was good as any previously built wall in the house!
Installing the Mantel
The final piece to creating an electric fireplace DIY wall is to install a mantel. It’s a perfect finish to the top of your wall and allows for those pretty fireplace moments of candles, stockings etc that we all love to enjoy.
I’ve had really great luck purchasing pre-made mantel pieces for all of the houses we’ve been in. This one we used was the same and can be purchased right here.
Since we have a stable wall built with studs, installing the mantel took almost no work at all. You can install it directly on the wall and secure it into your new DIY surround for extra stability.
A DIY Electric Fireplace that Pops!
Once the fireplace, surround and mantel are installed you can think about the fun details that will really make your new fireplace wall POP.
Things like lighting, art, paint or wall paper could all make this a focal point you will be happy to stare at whether the fire is blazing or not.
After considering if I should paint the wall, perhaps tile the fireplace or do something else to add a little color or pop of fun, I decided on using a large wall mural from Ane Wall Decor to place behind the fireplace. It was an easy install and really made the Electric fireplace DIY wall stand out as a statement of cozy comfort to our room.
This is the view from my bed daily and I couldn’t be happier to get to enjoy the new fireplace on or off.