DIY Fireplace Screen – Faux Stacked Logs
Make a DIY fireplace screen for your fireplace that helps to insulate the opening and looks decorative. This fireplace screen looks like stacked logs, but it’s really just a thin cover that is easy to move when you want to have a fire.
This DIY fireplace screen with stacked logs looks way better than our ugly fireplace AND it provides some extra insulation. It was a simple, inexpensive project that I’ve been using as our fireplace screen for more than seven years!
Our wood-burning fireplace is an energy hog, drafting in cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer (even when we have the flue closed!) During the winter, the floor in front of the fireplace is cold, and that half of the room is always quiet chilly. I looked into fireplace covers and insulation screens, and honestly, they were all pretty ugly. I set out to create my own.
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Supplies Needed to Make a DIY Fireplace Screen
- 3/8″ thick plywood
- 1″ thick styrofoam panel
- foam adhesive
- wood slices (or cut your own)
- Brad nailer (this battery-operated one is my favorite!)
How to Add Insulated to Fireplace Screen
I cut a piece of 3/8″” plywood down to fit in the opening. Then, I cut down one inch thick styrofoam. (I bought it from Menards for $1.50.) I used foam adhesive to glue the foam panel to the back of the plywood.
I painted the front of the plywood with dark gray paint so it would look similar to the openings between stacked wood. I just reused leftover paint for this. If I had black paint, I would have used that, but the dark gray worked as well.
Attaching the Wood Discs to the Fireplace Screen
I wanted to use birch logs for this project, but you could use any type of wood to make the wood discs. If you didn’t want to cut the discs yourself, many Etsy sellers have wood discs for sale. Here is a pack of 100 wood slices.
To make my birch discs, I found a nursery by my school that carried birch yule logs, which ended up working perfectly. I cut them down into varying widths (between 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 inches). I’ve devoted a whole post on how to buy birch logs for cheap.
I dried the birch discs in my oven at 200 degrees for about two hours. If you plan to glue the discs down, this step is very important. If you plan to nail the discs to the plywood, drying the discs is optional.
I decided to nail my discs down because I didn’t want to wait for the glue to dry. I used a couple of different lengths of nail to ensure each log was attached well, without nails hanging out of the back of the foam. The nail holes were so faint, that I actually couldn’t even tell which logs I had nailed down just by looking.
I had to tip it over a couple of times to see which logs fell out and still needed to be nailed.
Right now, it’s sitting in the fireplace opening, but I plan to put a latch on either side of the fireplace to hold it in place. Of course, it needs to be easily removable so we can still use it for fires!
Update: Seven years later and we are still using this DIY fireplace screen! It’s held up really well and is so functional, I don’t plan to ever get rid of it unless I design a different one for a new look.
Post by Jenny Leads
Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.
You did a wonderful job on your fireplace, I am blessed with a heat blower, so mine is already covered for winter and Summer. GOD bless. and thank you for sharing.
yes, yes, a million times, yes. enjoy!
b
So nice of you – thanks!
I LOVE that!! Our last house had a black felt covered board to keep the fireplace from drafting, but your cover is just beautiful!! Thanks for sharing at On Display Thursday, join us again this week!
I’m sorry but this is simply awesome…I love everything about it! Great job! Thanks for sharing it at On Display Thursday- I am featuring you project this week! Don’t forget to stop by and check out this week’s party!
Oh, thanks so much for featuring it!! I’ll be sure to be stopping over!
I love your birch tree fireplace, about how many logs did you use. I need to do this!
Karen
Thanks, Karen. I think I used 5 logs – the opening I needed to cover was 32″ by 24″. Best of luck on your project!
Nice, I love it. Going to give it a try
This exact project has been on my to do list for a couple of years! Love how yours turned out! I’ll be saving your post for future use! 😉 Thanks for linking up with us at Best of the Nest.
Looks awesome!!! I can’t see the nails either 🙂 and congrats on the table saw! I’m just about to learn to use one myself and I am S.O.O.O. excited.
Thanks! Good luck with your table saw adventures!
What an awesome idea! My fireplace isn’t drafty but I want to do this anyway just because it looks so fantastic! And congrats on the new table saw – I’m sure there’s lots of great projects coming our way because of it!
Thanks so much! I’m quite excited about my new “toy”!
Beautiful! Turned out great!
love it! thanks for sharing on craft schooling sunday!