Fireplace Built Ins Part 2: Building the Frame

Hi Friends! Welcome back to Part Two of our DIY Built Ins Series! Last Friday I showed you how we began our project. We ended with  some builder grade unfinished oak cabinets mounted to the wall, and some beadboard wallpaper as a ‘back’ to the cabinets.

 

This is how the built ins looked last time you saw them. I’m happy to say they’re a little taller now!

 

I’m going to show you the process of building the frame and mounting it to the wall.

I’ve been following this amazing tutorial from Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chic. And I’m really just adjusting and tweaking it to fit my space and style.

 

 

(This post contains affiliate links. This means I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.)

So, for this part of the project we used:

2 1x12x10 cut at 56 1/4 (to make 4 boards)
1 1x12x6 cut at 66 (for the horizontal top)
clamps
circular saw
Drill and Bit set
2 1/2 inch gold screws
square
measuring tape
pencil
4 inch L Brackets (get a set with screws if you can find them)
Level

 

We measured the boards and, using a square, drew the cut lines. The square assures the lines are cut straight.

After our last adventure with our local hardware store and their inaccurate cuts, we decided to cut the boards ourselves at home. We have a circular saw, and though it takes a bit longer to cut them ourselves, we felt more comfortable than leaving it up to chance again.

So with a few clamps and an extra 1×2, I clamped down a straight edge. If you use a circular saw, make sure to measure where your blade is actually located on your circular saw. My saw sits 1.5 inches behind the edge of the saw, so I make up for that by measuring my straight edge 1.5 inches back from the cutting line.

Once the boards are cut, we built the frame with the four vertical boards and the horizontal top board. We are lining up the vertical boards to sit right on top of the seams of the cabinets.

We use the clamps and the square to hold the vertical and horizontal boards at a right angle so we can screw them together.

Using a drill bit and countersink, make room for the screws.

 

Here’s what our clamps look like when we added an inside vertical board:

A little tip for sinking screws easily: dip them in water first.

After the vertical boards are attached, it’s time to mount it to the wall.

 

We located the studs in the wall, hoisted the frame up and marked where the studs were. Then we attached the L brackets to the top of the frame where we marked the stud location

Since we didn’t want our drill to go completely through the board, we used a sticker as a sort of stopper. When we reach the sticker, we stopped drilling.

After the brackets were mounted to the to of the frame, we repositioned the frame back on top of the cabinets. The L brackets were then screwed into the studs.

I know it looks a little wonky, but once we start adding in the shelves, it will start to pull together. The most important part is that the top is level. We will level out the vertical pieces as we build.

I’m so excited to get the shelves into place!! Then it’ll actually start looking like cabinets!

 

Stay a While!