If you're an interior designer specifying a media wall with a bio-ethanol fire, the visual outcome is only half the brief. The build method, material specification, and ventilation strategy determine whether the installation performs safely and reliably over time — and whether your client is still happy with it in five years.
This post covers exactly how Bio Fires approaches a hole-in-the-wall bio-ethanol media wall from a specification standpoint: the framing, the board materials, the TV recess detail, and the ventilation logic. Everything you need to brief a contractor or include in a design package.
The starting point: why standard plasterboard is not an option
A bio-ethanol fire produces real, sustained heat. In an open room this dissipates freely. Inside a built media wall structure it accumulates — and standard plasterboard, the default material for most partition wall builds, is neither rated for heat exposure nor non-combustible.
Specifying plasterboard in a media wall that houses a live burner creates two problems: a material that degrades with sustained heat exposure, and a substrate that does not meet the non-combustible requirement for installations involving an open flame. For any project where sign-off, insurance, or resale value matters, this is a specification risk worth taking seriously.
Every Bio Fires media wall is built with non-combustible materials throughout — not just immediately adjacent to the burner, but across the full structure.
Framing: metal stud throughout
The frame is built entirely from metal stud. No timber. Timber framing near a sustained heat source dries progressively, lowering its ignition threshold over time in a way that isn't visible until it's a problem. Metal stud is dimensionally stable, non-combustible, and carries no long-term heat risk.
For designers specifying joinery-integrated media walls — where the metal stud structure sits behind or within a joinery frame — the junction between the non-combustible inner structure and any timber joinery elements needs careful detailing.
Board materials: Supalux, Hardibacker, and cement board
Supalux
Supalux is a calcium silicate board with an A1 non-combustible classification under EN 13501 — the highest fire performance rating in the European classification system. It's the primary lining board we specify in the immediate zone around the burner opening and in the full height of the fire chamber.
Critically for finish quality, Supalux can be skimmed, painted, tiled, or clad. It takes a finish that is indistinguishable from standard plasterboard — which means the aesthetic integrity of the design is not compromised by the non-combustible substrate requirement.
Hardibacker and cement board
For broader areas of the media wall structure — where direct heat exposure is lower but non-combustible specification is still required — we use Hardibacker or equivalent cement board. Where the design calls for large-format tile or porcelain slab as the wall finish (increasingly common in high-specification residential projects), cement board is also the correct substrate, providing stability and preventing the bond failure that occurs when standard plasterboard is used behind tiles in a heat-affected zone.
The TV recess: thermal isolation as a specification requirement
Recessing a TV directly above a bio-ethanol burner is the defining detail of this installation type — and the one that carries the greatest technical risk if not handled correctly.
Heat rises. In a cavity with no thermal break between the fire chamber and the TV recess, the electronics bay becomes an oven. Sustained elevated temperatures shorten screen lifespan, trigger thermal throttling in the TV's processor, and in persistent cases cause the display to shut down under its own thermal protection. For a client who has invested in a high-specification media wall, this is an unacceptable outcome.
Bio Fires addresses this with two specification details:
- Non-combustible insulation board behind the TV recess. This creates a thermal break between the heated cavity below and the electronics bay. The TV mounting area becomes a thermally isolated compartment — heat transfer from the fire chamber is significantly reduced, keeping operating temperatures within the TV manufacturer's recommended range.
- A solid non-combustible baffle between the fire chamber and the TV recess. This horizontal separator prevents heat from rising directly from the burner into the TV bay. Warm air must travel around the baffle before it can reach the recess, by which point it has dissipated to a safe level.
Both details should be drawn into the section view of the media wall at design stage — they affect the internal dimensions of the structure and need to be accounted for before framing begins.
Ventilation: preventing the cavity from becoming an oven
A bio-ethanol burner requires a continuous supply of fresh air to combust correctly and completely. It also produces warm air that needs a route out of the media wall cavity. Without managed ventilation, two things happen: combustion quality degrades as oxygen in the cavity depletes, and the upper section of the media wall — directly behind and above the TV — accumulates heat with nowhere to go. The cavity becomes an oven.
The solution is a two-vent passive system, specified at design stage:
- Low vent. Positioned at the base of the media wall, this admits cool fresh air at floor level — feeding the combustion zone and initiating airflow through the cavity. In most installations this is a slim grille finished to match the wall surface. Positioned correctly it reads as an intentional design detail rather than a functional necessity.
- High vent. Positioned near the top of the media wall, this allows warm air that has risen through the cavity to escape before it accumulates behind the TV. Without this vent, the upper cavity reaches temperatures that no amount of insulation behind the TV recess will fully counteract.
Together these vents create passive convection — cool air enters at the base, warms through the cavity, exits at the top. The structure self-regulates without any powered ventilation or mechanical extract.
Vent sizing and positioning is calculated against the media wall dimensions, the Bio Fires burner output, and the room volume. Bio Fires provides this as part of the specification package — it's not a detail to leave to the contractor's judgement on site.
Finish options and design flexibility
The non-combustible material specification does not constrain the aesthetic. Surfaces over Supalux and cement board can be finished in:
- Skim plaster — painted in any colour, including dark or saturated tones that work particularly well behind a flame
- Large-format porcelain or ceramic tile — increasingly specified in contemporary residential and hospitality projects
- Micro-cement or polished concrete finish — achieves the monolithic, textured look that reads well in architectural photography
- Natural stone slabs — requires correct substrate preparation, which cement board provides
- Fluted or ribbed plaster panels — currently high demand in residential specification; compatible with Supalux substrate
The fireplace opening itself can be finished with a steel chamber. Bio Fires built-in models can be supplied with this option, providing a clean, sharp reveal that requires no additional dressing.
What Bio Fires provides for design and specification teams
Bio Fires can work directly with interior designers, architects, and design-build contractors at specification stage. We provide:
- Advice on — framing, board layers, insulation, and vent positions
- Burner sizing recommendations based on room volume and usage pattern
- Material advice
- Installation support for contractors unfamiliar with bio-ethanol fireplaces and non-combustible media wall builds
If you're specifying a media wall with a bio-ethanol fire — whether for a private residential client, a show home, or a hospitality project — speak to Bio Fires at design stage. The details that make the difference between a media wall that looks right and one that performs correctly are easier and cheaper to get right on paper than on site.