Reclaimed Wood Fireplace (Part I)

Given the right wood and the proper tools, creating inviting spaces with reclaimed wood can be accomplished with relative ease. In this project we updated the look of this mid 90’s home fireplace with a reclaimed wood surround.

As you can see from the picture, we originally had our flat screen TV mounted over the fireplace. When the house was built, there were no electrical or cable boxes installed above the fireplace. So, for the last 5 years, we’ve just ran the cables out the side to our entertainment center. We did a good job hiding the cables with decor but we decided that if we were going to redo things, we might as well put in cable and electrical, to really hide things. The fireplace was also beginning to see some wear and tear, so we decided to just give the whole thing a makeover.

We completed this project (well mostly) over the course of two weekends. Someone with more experience might have been able to finish it faster but this blog is to show how the average DIY home owner can take on reclaimed wood projects and get great results.

Demo of the original mantel and tile around the fireplace caused significant damage to the drywall so we decided to remove the lower portion of drywall around the fireplace and put in new drywall.

This was really the place where we decided to add the electrical and run new cabling for the TV. We figured with the wall gone it was our best opportunity to do it. It was pretty easy for us to tap into the wall switch for the fireplace fan. Although with the extra wire, I decided it would be good to up-size to a 2-gang box to give more room. (Note: If you don’t feel comfortable with electrical, be sure to consult a pro before attempting any wiring.)

After the new boxes were in place, we patched up the drywall the best we could with a damaged piece we bought from Lowe’s for half the cost. Don’t judge the drywall job… Remember we are covering all this with reclaimed wood.

The fireplace was now ready for it’s wood makeover! We decided we wanted to use classic brown barn-wood for the wall surround. Matt and the crew at Rustic Wood Hub picked us out some great wood from their inventory and had it custom milled shiplap style. The reason we chose the shiplap, was to help it join together better and create straight edges for a cleaner look. We also wanted a variety of shades. As you can see from the picture, we had some nice wood to use!

(to be continued…)