Fireplace Surround part 2

Now we are ready to mount the pre-fabricated pilasters and trim to the lower section. The pilasters were positioned and fastened with screws from behind and the trim pieces and applique were face nailed with finish nails. The nail holes are filled and everything is sanded for finishing. On the upper section there are 3 different trim profiles, a base (mounted upside down) and a standard crown on top of the base. For the top edging, a piece of square stock is glued on and the profile routed into afterwards.
Below are some pictures of the finished pieces. The finish used was a clear gloss polyurethane (about 3 coats). Final installation.
If there are any questions about the steps or methods use for this project (or any project), please feel free to send me an email and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Fireplace Surround

PROJECT: FIREPLACE SURROUND

This project involves the construction of an oak surround for a vent-less gas fireplace unit.

The first step is to create a measured drawing that accommodates the size and tolerances of the fireplace unit. These dimensions are usually include in the installation manual. Below is the drawing that was created. In this drawing I have excluded the trim components to show the dimensions of the cabinet only.

After gathering all the different materials needed I created a cut list for all the parts of the cabinet. In addition to the dimensioned drawing above I like to create a 3D model which helps me visualize the finished piece. This isn’t absolutely necessary but can be quite helpful to actually build it on the computer first in order to envision how it actually is assembled and even catch any mistakes that might have been overlooked (or cannot be seen) in the 2D drawing. The following illustrations show the full model and the cabinet exploded and how it should go together.

These illustrate using biscuits and pocket holes. In this way we don’t have any exposed fasteners thru the face of the cabinet. You might have noticed that the side panel on the near side has a panel cut in the side. This is to create an access to the interior in order to hook up the gas and access the shut off valve. This panel will be be held in place with a magnetic catch at the top, a cleat at the bottom and trim molding. (See Below)

The cleat is beveled slightly where it catches the edge of the cut out so it can be tilted out to remove it.

Next time we will attach the pre-fabricated pilasters and trim pieces on the upper and lower sections.