How to build a modern fireplace tv wall, on a budget, that looks like marble using faux marble laminate sheets with electric fireplace insert and flush mount tv.
Have you ever wanted to put a fireplace in your home? I’ve never had a fireplace before. But I’ve imagined how cozy and comfortable it would make a space feel.
This whole diy modern electric fireplace tv wall project started because I’ve wanted to do something with my main living room wall for a while. But I wasn’t sure what.
Then, one day a few months ago, while I was scrolling through Pinterest, I saw some beautiful modern marble fireplace tv walls and I fell in love!
But I knew I would need to make my marble fireplace tv wall on a budget.
So, since I had just finished installing my favorite modern faux marble laminate countertop in my kitchen, I immediately wondered if I could use laminate on a wall.
It took me a while to figure out how I could make a laminate wall that would look good.
But eventually it came to me and that’s what I did!
I built a modern faux marble fireplace tv wall using sheets of laminate.
Table of Contents
- What is laminate?
- How to Build a Modern Faux Marble Fireplace TV Wall
- DIY Modern Electric Fireplace TV Wall – Video
- Supplies
- Tools
- Step 1: Measure and Plan
- Step 2: Build & install fireplace side wall frames
- Step 3: Build & install fireplace front wall frame
- Step 4: Cut and attach mdf to fireplace frame
- Step 5: Apply laminate to mdf
- Step 6: Finish assembling diy modern electric fireplace tv wall
- DIY modern electric fireplace wall reveal
What is laminate?
The star of the show in this marble look fireplace tv wall are the faux Calcutta marble laminate sheets that I used to cover the surface of the walls.
Laminate sheets are thin sheets of building material that come in many different colors and patterns.
They are usually made of paper and resins that are pressed together.
There are many different building materials that come with laminate already applied like countertops, and flooring.
They also sell laminate in sheets that you can use for different projects.
The basic principle of using laminate sheeting is that you cut it large with a circular saw. Then, glue it with contact cement to the object you are applying it to. Finally, you trim the edges with a router for a nice clean finish.
Pros of laminate:
- In expensive compared to the material it is impersonating (marble, granite, hard wood)
- Looks realistic
- DIY friendly
- Durable
How to Build a Modern Faux Marble Fireplace TV Wall
I would say this would be a good project for someone with intermediate diy skills. Someone who has done some building and wants to challenge themselves.
I started by framing three walls and attaching them to studs in my existing living room wall.
Next, I cut and installed mdf to the framed walls.
And last, I attached laminate to the mdf and trimmed it with a router.
I installed an electric fireplace insert and tv wall mount following their simple instructions.
DIY Modern Electric Fireplace TV Wall – Video
Supplies
- Electric fireplace insert
- Faux marble laminate sheets
- 2×4’s (I used 12)
- 2×2’s (I used 8)
- 1 1/2, 2 1/2, and 3 inch wood screws
- 3/4 inch 4×8 foot MDF panels (I used 3)
- Contact cement
- Sand paper
Tools
- Measuring tape
- Circular saw
- Kreg Rip-Cut saw guide
- Kreg Accu-cut saw guide
- Sander (optional)
- Router
- Flush trim router bit
- Drill
- Miter saw
- Measuring tape
- Stud finder
- Level
- Paint roller
- Foam rollers
- Roller thing
Step 1: Measure and Plan
The first thing I did when I started my diy modern electric fireplace tv wall was measure and come up with a plan.
The living room wall where I built my tv fireplace wall has a couple different things going on with it.
First of all it has an off center doorway.
Second it has a vaulted ceiling.
I knew I wanted to take the fireplace tv wall all the way to the ceiling and use the distance from the vaulted ceiling peak to the doorway (27 inches) as my guide for how wide it was going to be.
So, I multiplied 27×2 to get the width of my fireplace wall.
After that I chose an electric fireplace insert. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn on qualifying purchases).
Then, I applied painters’ tape to the wall and floor to replicate the size of the wall, fireplace insert, and tv. I’m a visual learner, so this is helpful for me to understand how things will look when I am done.
Step 2: Build & install fireplace side wall frames
Disclaimer: I am not a carpenter or contractor. I’m just a woman who likes to make a lot of stuff.
The walls I built are decorative. They are not meant to be load baring.
My finished fireplace tv wall is 18 inches deep, 54 inches wide, and 98-101 inches tall (vaulted ceiling).
I started this project by building the two side walls.
I cut 2×4’s to the size I needed using a miter saw.
Then, I use 2 1/2 inch wood screws to attach the long 2×4’s in between the short ones to form a rectangle.
Next, I used a studfinder to mark the studs inside the livingroom wall that I am attaching the fireplace wall to.
Then I used a level to run a pencil line for where the studs should be.
I attached the side walls of the tv fireplace wall to the livingroom wall (studs) with 3 inch screws.
I started with the wall next to the doorway first (leaving at least 3/4 inch space between it and the doorway to account for the mdf and laminate that I will be attaching to the exterior of this wall at the end).
Then, I used a 2×4 cut to the width of the fireplace (minus the two side walls) to make sure the two side walls where the correct distance apart, and attached the second side wall to the livingroom wall studs.
Step 3: Build & install fireplace front wall frame
The front wall frame was a little more complicated for me to build than the side walls because I needed a hole for the electric fireplace insert and to make sure that I had two 16 inch on center 2×4’s above it to mount my tv.
I started by building a frame that would fit the front of my fireplace wall (in between the two side walls I built in the last step).
I cut more 2×4’s to the size I needed.
Then, I started creating another rectangle with 2×4’s, screwing the long 2×4’s in between the two shorter ones.
Next, I built a whole for my fireplace insert out of 2×4’s and added supports under the hole.
At this point I was feeling like I needed to get the framed wall squared up. So, I placed it in between the side walls, attached the “header” 2×4 on top, and made sure it was square.
After that I attached my two 16 inch on center 2×4’s above the fireplace hole.
Lastly, I screwed the front fireplace wall frame in between the two side walls, securing it with 2 1/2 inch screws
Step 4: Cut and attach mdf to fireplace frame
When I saw a marble tv fireplace wall on Pinterest and started trying to figure out how I could build a diy modern electric fireplace tv wall that looks like marble, on a budget, I thought a lot about what I would use to get the look of marble.
Then, when I came up with the idea to use faux marble laminate sheets to build my modern electric fireplace tv wall I thought a lot about how I was going to get the laminate on the wall.
A few years ago, I used this great tutorial by The Craft Patch to make my own laminate countertop. So I already had a good idea of how to work with sheets of laminate.
I knew I couldn’t just build a wall, cut the the laminate, and attach it right to the assembled wall.
I would need to attach mdf to my wall and then remove it (as one piece) so that I could glue the laminate to it and trim it, then re install the mdf/laminate.
It took me a while to figure out how the heck I was going to attach mdf to a wall, take it off in one piece, and attach it back to the wall after I had laminated it.
So this is what I did:
First, using my Kreg Accucut and Rip Cut and my circular saw, I cut pieces of mdf to fit the sides and front of the fireplace tv wall.
Next, I screwed 2×2’s to the wall frame 2×4’s (inside the fireplace).
Then I marked where the 2×2’s were, using a level and a pencil, and screwed (from the outside of the fireplace) the mdf to the 2×2’s with 1 1/2 inch screws.
This way when I was ready to remove the mdf, to apply the laminate sheets, it was all in one piece and lined up because the 2×2’s were holding it together.
And once I was done applying laminte to the mdf I could easily reattch it to the fireplace frame walls.
Step 5: Apply laminate to mdf
First, I unscrewed the 2×2’s inside the fireplace from the wall frames and had my husband help me pull the mdf and 2×2’s off the fireplace wall frames and carry them down to the garage.
Next, using a circular saw, I cut my large laminate sheets down so that they were a closer size to the right, left, and front walls of the fireplace.
Make sure your laminate piece is larger than your mdf so that you can get it lined up and glued on, so it completely covers the mdf. You will trim the laminate in one of the next steps.
Can you believe I forgot to take pictures of the next steps!? No worries. No pictures, no problems. I’ve got something even better. here’s a video of how I attached the laminate to the mdf.
I roughly cut my laminate sheets with at least an extra 2 inches on every side.
Before gluing the laminate and mdf together, I sanded off the extra mdf that had been pushed out near the screws and removed the dust with a vacumm and damp cloth.
After that, I followed the instructions on the contact cement and applied it to the laminate sheet and the mdf using a foam roller. (I used two coats, applied 20 minutes apart)
Once the contact cement was dry, I placed dowels on top of the mdf and my husband helped me center the laminate sheet over the mdf.
It is very important that you do not let the laminate and mdf, that have glue applied, touch until you have the laminate where you want it on the mdf.
You will NOT be able to reposition the laminate on the mdf once the two glued sides have touched.
Starting from the center, I removed the middle dowel and I used a j roller to apply pressure attached the laminate sheet to the mdf.
Then I worked my way down to the ends using this same technique to get the laminate stuck to the mdf.
Approximately 24 hours later I trimmed the back and top and bottom edges of the laminate using a router with flush trim router bit.
I did not trim the front edges of the laminate until I got it installed back on the wall frames, see below.
Step 6: Finish assembling diy modern electric fireplace tv wall
Assembling the mdf/laminate walls back onto the fireplace wall frames felt like the most tedious part of the project because I wanted to get the laminate trimmed as perfectly as possible so it would look like real marble.
And once you cut laminate you cannot uncut it.
Since I couldn’t trim the laminate at the top and bottom of the fireplace with the walls installed (the router would bump into the ceiling or floor):
First I put the side walls back on the wall frames and screwed the 2×2’s back onto the wall frame.
Then, I installed the front mdf wall onto the frame and marked where the front panel met the side panel laminate the top and bottom approximately 5 inches.
Then I removed all of the mdf/laminate walls so I could use the router to trim the top and bottom laminate on the side walls.
We used some scrap wood and clamps on “inside” of the side wall as a guide for where it met up with the front wall, turned the side wall back over trimmed it with a router.
I reinstalled all of the mdf/laminate walls and finished triming the laminate with the walls installed. Including the front wall.
Th picture below shows before finishing triming the sides and after putting the front mdf on, trimming sides, and removing front mdf.
After that I removed the front mdf wall to apply the laminate to it.
The next day I trimmed the top and bottom of the front wall laminate, the holes for the fireplace insert and tv mount and the top and bottom of the sides of the front wall with my router.
Once it was screwed back onto the fireplace I finished trimming the edges of the laminate with my router.
After that we installed the electric fireplace insert and tv wall mount.
DIY modern electric fireplace wall reveal
Does it look like marble? I guess that’s for each to decide on their own…but I think it does and I’m happy with how it came out!
Now onto the next project! Finishing up this wall with diy built in cabinets and shelves! Follow along on Instagram stories where I will be starting that project next week!
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