4. Board-Formed Concrete Fireplace Surround
Introduction
Board-formed concrete combines the industrial strength of concrete with the rich organic grain texture of wooden planks pressed into the wet mix during casting. A floor-to-ceiling board-formed concrete fireplace acts as a monumental hearth anchor.
What This Idea Means
This design celebrates tactile duality—the marriage of hard stone with soft organic wood grain. It introduces rich linear texture and monumental focal weight to modern living spaces.
How to Make It
- Building the Formwork: Construct custom wooden formwork boxes using rough-sawn southern yellow pine or cedar planks to capture deep grain patterns.
- Pouring and Vibrating: Pour self-consolidating concrete into the formwork, vibrating the exterior to eliminate air pockets against the wooden boards.
- Curing and Stripping: Allow the concrete to cure for 7 days before stripping away the wooden formwork to reveal the embossed wood grain texture.
- Mounting and Sealing: Install the heavy concrete panels securely around the firebox, sealing them with a flat matte protective coating.
Tips and Variations
- Tip: Experiment with varying board widths in your wooden formwork to create a more dynamic, randomized linear wood-grain pattern on the concrete surface.
- Variation: Cast a minimalist cantilevered concrete hearth bench extending from the base of the fireplace surround.
Needs to Make That Thing
- Rough-sawn timber planks for formwork construction
- High-strength concrete mix and concrete vibrator
- Heavy-duty lifting equipment and mounting brackets
- Matte breathable concrete sealer