Inexpensive Brick Fireplace Makeover Ideas

A fireplace can add character and warmth to your home but what if you have an old outdated brick fireplace that just looks awful and makes you cringe whenever you walk by it? In today’s economy it could be hard on the pocketbook to replace, so have you thought about doing a bit of DIY remodeling to give that old fireplace a lift? You may think that it’s too big of a job for you but here are some simple techniques that won’t harm the savings account and you can get it done rather quickly.

Painting A Brick Fireplace in a Weekend

An especially inexpensive way to change up your old brick is to give it a paint job. It’s possible to get this done in a weekend and you may find that you will have some of the products on hand like a caulk gun and masking tape, but, if you don’t, Amazon has some amazing prices on home improvement products that you can buy from the comfort of your home. Here are the tools that you will need:

• Soap, Water & a bucket
• Masking Tape
• Kilz – a stain blocking primer
• Caulk Gun
• White Lightening caulk

Basically, what you do first is clean your brick fireplace with a bucket of soap and water. You don’t have to get anything fancy here, just use some good soap that will take off any grease, residual or dirt. After it dries then you will want to take your masking tape and tape off around the wall and anyplace else where you don’t want to get paint. Next, mix your Kilz and then paint one coat at a time over the old brick. You will want to put at least two coats on.

If you have any nail holes in the brick, you will want to fill them in first before you paint. Otherwise, it will just look like a black hole and stand out. Take your caulk gun and just fill up the holes with the White Lightening caulk. You can read the directions on how to use caulk on the back of the label. Now let it sit overnight to dry.

The next day all you have to do is brush on a coat or two of your paint. But before you do this, let the video below take you through the steps again:

Painting is just one of the brick fireplace makeover ideas. You can also use Qwikcrete to give bricks a whole new look.

Using Qwikcrete for a Brick Fireplace Makeover

If you have done any do it yourself projects before, then you may be familiar with quikcrete. If not, it is a quick drying concrete that makes it easy for DIY home improvements. It’s easy to work with and you can buy it in a small amount and mix up as you need it. For this project you will need:

• Soap, Water & a bucket
• 2 bags of Qwikcrete
• 1 bottle of Bonding Cement Agent
• putty knife

Mix up your 2 bags of qwikcrete and the bottle of bonding agent. You will want to make it thinner than how you normally mix cement. Using a putty knife, you need to have patience for the next step because it will take a long time to put the qwikcrete over the bricks with the putty knife. Watch the video below to get an idea of how it works and how long it will take you to get the end result like in the video done by Chic on the Cheap:

Even though it does seem to take a long time for the qwikcrete project, you may not be willing to spend a lot of time re-doing your fireplace. If all you want is to spruce up the bricks, then a great idea to brighten up a dull brick fireplace can be done in the next step. You won’t believe how simple and cheap it can be!

Updating A Fireplace on a Budget

Any DIY budget minded person can use this technique with Mimwax! If all you want to do is brighten up the bricks on your old tired fireplace, buy a can of Mimwax stain and you will give it a whole fresh look. You can see just what it does in this super short video:

DIY Fireplace Mantel

If you are good with woodworking, you may want to buy some wood at your local home improvement store and build your own fireplace mantel. But if you just don’t know how to do it and would rather just put one up that is already together, they do have kits. Amazon.com has some easy to put together fireplace mantel kits for just a few hundred dollars saving you time and lots of extra work if you are in a hurry to get this project done. This could be a great alternative if you don’t want to paint the bricks, but you just want to make a nice change.

With a ready made mantel it will come shipped to you in three pieces. Then, all you have to do is some simple nuts and bolts technology and you have a simple, yet elegant change. This precise mantel had some good reviews. One person said that it was simple to install which made it easy for them to do. Another customer said it has clean lines and looks good in their home. For whatever reason, if you want to spruce up an outdated or old fireplace, then perhaps a mantel that is ready to install may be your best bet.

These really cheap brick fireplace makeover ideas are a great way to save dollars and enjoy your life without breaking the bank.