GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE(PLACE)!
Hey guys, guess what? We’ve just rectified Lana’s biggest renovation regret and set her heart on fire! She’s so stoked with the result (and the fact that she can sit back with a glass of red without having to stoke anything!) that we wanted to share her new addition with you.
For years Lana’s told us that her only regret when renovating her home was over-lighting it with harsh cool downlights, meaning that the hallway resembled a supermarket aisle and the living room a doctor’s surgery when she flicked on the lights each evening. Now that she’s remedied the lighting situ, there’s one more thing that's been sizzling on the back burner on her forever home wishlist. Something that would make her living room much cosier on cool winter evenings and draw her family to the space, like moths to a flame … a fireplace.
To be fair, Lana did consider a gorgeous gas fireplace during her initial renovation but when it came to crunching the numbers on her budget tracker, the fireplace was a ‘nice to have’ that could wait until ‘later.’' 7 years on, ‘later’ has arrived and lucky for Lana, she had the perfect wall space ready and waiting to install her dream fireplace in the heart of her home.
If you’re renovating or building and are considering incorporating a fireplace into your plans, or if you’re thinking about retrofitting a fireplace in your current home, read on to see the step-by-step guide to installing Lana’s new fireplace.
7 STEPS TO LANA’S DREAM FIREPLACE
STEP 1
Choose your dream fireplace. Lana wanted the ambience and charm of a live flame with the convenience of an everyday fire at the flick of a switch, making a gas fireplace the best solution for her living room. She chose a gorgeous fireplace from Lopi with driftwood for a realistic look and a mirrored back to make the flame look twice as nice ;-) And to avoid the need for a mantle, Lopi recommended their signature CoolSmart system which safely pulls the heat away from televisions and out of the vent that sits above, keeping everything cool and safe while the fireplace is in use.
STEP 2
Lana measured out exactly where she wanted the fireplace to sit, taking into account the position of the TV that would be mounted above the fireplace. She wanted the fireplace as close to the floor as possible and the TV to sit as close to the fireplace as the specs would allow. Our chippie from Carrera By Design (yep they do more than build kitchens) got the brief and then set to work to build the framework surrounds.
Reminder: Don’t forget your services! When you’re planning for a gas fireplace you’ll need a power source to plug it into and a line to your gas source.
STEP 3
Now it’s time to bring in the hot shots! Installing a gas fireplace is definitely a job for the experts and your fireplace manufacturer can recommend their preferred installers who are licensed gasfitters, trained to do this job safely. They also installed the flue and the outlet through the roof and in Lana’s case, they connected the CoolSmart system.
These guys will also hook the fireplace up to the gas supply and test everything, making sure it’s safe for you and your family.
STEP 4
Once everything was fixed in place and connected, the chippie returned to enclose the framing and surround the fireplace with Villaboard. Villaboard is fibre cement sheeting that’s fire-resistant so it’s perfect for hot and heavy-duty jobs like this. Lana wanted a streamlined finish so he created a recess for the TV to sit flush within the surround. And before you say “but a recess means you can never upgrade to a larger TV” …. yep, Lana thought this through and knew that a 65 inch TV is the perfect size for this room - any bigger would be too dominant and unnecessarily large.
STEP 5
To finish off the fireplace surround the plasterer set the Villaboard joins with joint compound and Lana also asked him to rub it all over the board to add texture. He was super reluctant at first because bumpy compound is usually classified as a defect, but when she showed him all the textured render around her home, she convinced him he wasn’t going to get in trouble but doing a rough job here. This textured finish ties back into the brick wall behind and connects it to the rendered walls elsewhere in the house.
Skirting boards were added and the paint choice was easy - Dulux Lexicon Half to match the walls and ceiling.
STEP 6
Carrera by Design built custom wall-hung cabinetry on either side of the fireplace, including two push-touch drawers, two push-touch cupboards and benchtop space for storage and styling. It’s finished in 2-pac polyurethane in, of course, Dulux Lexicon Half.
STEP 7
It’s all done and Lana’s de-lighted! Time to sit back, admire and enjoy.
HEY, HOT STUFF!