Wrought iron detail.
Refurbishing an old wrought iron garden gate into a fireplace screen not only reduces waste, but makes an attractive cover for the front of your fireplace. You can find old wrought iron garden gates at your local architectural salvage yard, or from specialty dealers online. Decorative wrought iron gates may be painted or left in their natural condition to suit the room's decor. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the width of your garden gate before you purchase your building materials. Your local home improvement store will cut the wood plank for you if you have your gate measurements.
2. Clean the garden gate thoroughly with the wire brush, removing any rust or debris.
3. Paint the wood plank black on both sides and the ends. This will become the brace for your decorative fireplace screen; painting the wood black will help it blend into the fireplace.
4. Dry fit the braces onto the inside bottom of the garden gate, one on each end and one in the middle. If your gate does not have a wrought iron bar in the center, one on either end will be sufficient. Mark the spots for the screws with a white grease pencil. Drill pilot holes for the screws through the marks on the garden gate for easy assembly.
5. Attach the "L" brackets to the garden gate. Balance the gate on a table. Place the wood plank on top of the "L" bracket. Slide the plank and the gate to the edge of the table and mark the spots for the screws underneath the wood.
6. Drill pilot holes through the marks on the wood plank. Place the wood on the "L" bracket and attach it with screws. Your garden gate should sit upright in the opening of your fireplace.
Tags: garden gate, wood plank, wrought iron, Drill pilot, Drill pilot holes, into fireplace, iron garden
