As soon as humans learned to harness fire, it became a reliable companion and helper. Food was cooked over fire, fireplaces heated homes, and it was pleasant to spend long winter evenings by the crackling logs, enjoying conversations with loved ones, or simply contemplating. Year by year, fireplaces are becoming more popular; they are increasingly used as a decorative element indoors.
If you’ve decided to build your own home and a fireplace is a must-have, you’ve probably wondered how to create a top-notch fireplace without hiring outside specialists, what blueprints and calculations are needed, and what materials to purchase.
The Fireplace: How it Works
Before starting the work, it’s helpful to understand how a fireplace is constructed and its basic operating principles. Essentially, a fireplace is a conventional stove with an open firebox. Wood is the fuel for a fireplace, and as it burns, it releases heat, which serves as the heating source for the rooms in the house.
To prevent sparks from burning wood and smoke from entering the room, the chimney’s shape is slightly curved. This curved shape also reliably protects the house from rainwater and snow.
Although fireplaces have long been used by humans as a source of heat in the home, they should not be used as the primary heating source today, as only 20 percent of the generated heat enters the house, while the remaining 80 percent, unfortunately, literally goes up the chimney. Furthermore, heating with a fireplace will not be uniform, as the main flow of warm air is directed forward from the firebox, and the sides do not heat up. To increase heat output, it is most rational to build shallow structures.
Building a Fireplace Yourself
It is entirely possible to build a brick fireplace yourself; the blueprints must initially match all your wishes. The simplest way to build a heater without involving specialists, by doing all the work yourself, is to construct a fireplace using brick as the primary material. The main rule that the built heater must adhere to is that it should not smoke and it should heat the house, although aesthetics are not the least important component. After all, even if a fireplace doesn’t smoke and heats the room perfectly, if it’s not beautiful, it won’t bring aesthetic pleasure to its owner.
So, like any other type of work, constructing a fireplace heater requires preparatory steps:
- project selection;
- choosing its location in the house;
- creating fireplace blueprints;
- selecting building materials.
If you’re out of ideas for how to design your fireplace or what its appearance should be, you can always seek help from professionals or try to find inspiration by browsing images of finished fireplaces available online.
Choosing the Location for Your Future Fireplace in the House
Most often, homeowners choose a load-bearing wall for building a fireplace, which is usually located opposite the entrance to the room. However, this is not the only option, as you can also build a built-in fireplace, a corner fireplace, or even a freestanding one. The type of fireplace to choose depends solely on the available space in the house and the homeowner’s personal preferences.
Where in the house should you not install a fireplace? Certainly not opposite a window, as in that case, all the heat would be directed straight out the window and wouldn’t warm the room. When planning the fireplace’s location, don’t forget about safety in the house; the fireplace should not be a source of sparks or smoke within the home.
How to Calculate Fireplace Dimensions
To perform calculations and determine the dimensions of your future fireplace, you’ll need some free time and writing supplies; graph paper is preferable.
- first of all, you need to determine the room size and schematically represent it by drawing it on paper, using a scale;
- next, calculate the firebox; its size should be no less than one-fiftieth of the total room volume;
- the proportions for the depth of the heater’s portal are two to three or one to two; it is important to observe these to properly organize heat transfer and prevent smoke in the room;
- the chimney size directly depends on the area occupied by the firebox; it should be less than one-eighth of that area;
- if the chimney is round, its pipe diameter should be at least 100mm, and the average pipe length is 5 meters.
Required Consumables for Construction
Preparatory work is complete, calculations have been made, and all blueprints are ready. You could start construction, but you still need to select and purchase materials for building the heater. So, for building such a comfortable and cozy fireplace, you will need the following materials:
- solid bricks, which should be purchased individually, as this material is quite expensive;
- clean river sand, with a grain size ranging from 0.2 mm to 1.5 millimeters;
- ordinary cement, available at any store;
- for the fireplace base, stock up on crushed stone;
- rebar, 700 millimeters in length, 8 to 10 mm in diameter, 20 pieces;
- a damper, intended for the chimney.
In addition to traditional brick, other types of materials can be used, for example, metal, which would be an excellent solution. However, when using metal as a fireplace material, it is crucial to correctly determine the necessary quantity.
Stages of Fireplace Foundation Construction
Before starting to build the foundation, it’s important to remember that it cannot be in the same location as the house’s main foundation. The construction of a fireplace foundation usually begins with pouring it. The width of the foundation pedestal for the future heater should be equal to the width of the base row with a five-centimeter margin. So:
- you need to dig a pit for the foundation, whose width is 15 centimeters wider than the fireplace, and the pit’s depth is at least 60 centimeters;
- fill the bottom of the pit with crushed stone, which must be thoroughly compacted and leveled using a spirit level;
- begin constructing the foundation; for this, prepare a formwork from boards, whose height should correspond to the foundation’s height. It wouldn’t hurt if the prepared boards are covered with a layer of tar and treated with a layer of roofing felt;
- prepare a cement and sand mixture in a 1:3 ratio and pour it into the installed formwork;
- the top of the finished foundation is carefully leveled and covered with a layer of plastic film;
- all that remains is to wait for the foundation to fully dry, which usually takes six to seven days.
Preparing Bricks for Laying
Brick and concrete are the best materials widely used for fireplace construction. However, brick needs to be prepared before being used for masonry. Usually, bricks have standard shapes and sizes, but it’s advisable to discard any rough, uneven bricks, or those with chips and cracks. The material should have a perfectly smooth surface. Before use, the masonry material should be immersed in water for a few minutes to allow all air to escape, which will significantly increase the strength of the finished masonry.
With the material ready, it’s time to prepare the clay. It should be soaked in water two days before starting work, during which time water should be gradually added, and the resulting mixture kneaded until it forms a homogeneous mass.
Fireplace Masonry – Execution Stages
It’s time to start laying the masonry for the future heater. The masonry is laid on several layers of pre-installed roofing felt. Each subsequent layer should be precisely aligned above the previous one; a spirit level will be a reliable helper here. The masonry must be done carefully, as the appearance of the finished fireplace depends on it.
During the work, lay the material on a lath, pressing it slightly. On top, apply a layer of clay, laying it carefully. Lay the bottom bricks on edge.
To ensure the masonry is perfectly even, remember to use a spirit level and squares for each completed row, which will help adhere to all rules for quality work.
The chimney’s construction requires special attention. Before starting, the mortar must be checked by hand to ensure it is free of any inclusions. As you lay each brick layer, mark it on your diagram by shading it with a pencil.
After completing three rows of masonry, embed the pins that will support the fireplace grate.
The side protrusions of the portal require no less attention; they should be laid using half-bricks. The work is complete; now it’s time to finish the joints. For this, decorative types of mortar are typically used, to which coloring agents are usually added.
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