Replacing My Electric Fireplace with a Custom Built-In

If you���ve ever let ���resale value��� dictate your home improvement decisions, it���s time for a reality check. Your house should work for you, not for some hypothetical future buyer who may or may not love your style choices. That���s exactly why my wife, Nicole, and I decided to kick our barely functional electric fireplace to the curb and replace it with something way more useful: a custom-built wooden insert that houses a proper center channel speaker.

The Problem: A Fireplace That Did Nothing

Our basement family room had a lot going for it���except for one glaring issue. It wasn���t wired for surround sound, and there was no good place for the all-important center channel speaker. The main culprit? A cheap electric fireplace that:

Made more noise than heatLooked realistic��� but only when it was turned offTook up prime real estate where my speaker should have been

One day, curiosity got the best of me, and I tugged at the fireplace. Surprise! It wasn���t even secured. It was just sitting there, mocking me. That unexpected discovery gave me the perfect opportunity to run the speaker wires I needed. But it still left me with a dilemma���where would the speaker go?

The Solution: A Custom Wooden Insert

Enter my brilliant wife, Nicole, who suggested the obvious answer: get rid of the fireplace entirely and replace it with a built-in wooden insert. And thus, a project was born.

Designing the Insert

I jumped into SketchUp to design a simple but sturdy box that would fit snugly into the alcove. Nothing fancy���just a well-constructed plywood case with a walnut face frame to class things up.

Choosing Materials

For this project, I treated myself to some high-quality materials:

����� and ����� walnut plywood ��� Pricey, but hey, sometimes the cobbler���s kids actually get shoes.Solid walnut for the face frame ��� Because if I���m doing this, I���m doing it right.Building the InsertCut the plywood pieces ��� Two long pieces for the top and bottom, plus shorter side panels. And one piece of 1/4″ for the back.Assembly ��� Glue, brads, and 90-degree clamps kept everything square.Face frame ��� I used my Domino joiner for extra strength and alignment.Finishing ��� A classic combo of Seal-a-Cell and Arm-R-Seal for a rich, durable walnut glow.Installing and Wiring

With the insert finished, I took care of some bonus upgrades:

Ran speaker wires and installed a low-voltage bracket for the center channelAdded extra electrical outlets because future me will thank past meSecured the insert in place and even threw in an LED smart light strip for a little extra flairThe Final Result

The new insert fits like a glove (cue the Ace Ventura reference). It���s sleek, functional, and���best of all���it doesn���t pretend to be a real fireplace. Now the center channel speaker sits exactly where it should, and our home theater setup is finally complete���

���except now the built-ins next to the alcove look terrible. But hey, that���s a project for another day.

Until next time���happy building!

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