Just got the latest round of photos back from WalMart One Hour. One of these days I’ll spring for a digital……
Before and after photos:
This mantle is all mahogany, stained and poly’d, 53″ tall and 12″ deep to the wall and a 3″ return to the surround. The top is 8′ long and 16″ deep. The four corbels are glued up 3 pieces to make each 2″ thick, 14″ tall, bandsawed and handsanded. Used pocket screws for the framework and glue and a few staples and brads for the rest. Between the corbels and returned to the wall(under the top) is a 2 part crown and I wish I could have taken a better picture of the built up trimwork of each pilaster.
Built in the good old home workshop (garage) and assembled and finished in my dining room. (Wife just loved that,but I didn’t have room anyplace else).
The surround is a mottled brownish with silvery highlights 12×12 granite and the hearth (difficult to see) is 18″ deep and 8′ long of the same granite and bordered with a 2″ band of oak, planed, chamfered and sanded after installation and stained to match the floor. Matching wainscotting from the mantle to the adjacent windows finishes the wall. Removed the plaster and lath to recess the wainscotting. Actually is flush with the face of the wall with the crown and cap extending 2 1/4″
Replies
Ralph,
That sure was a sad site before you got ahold of it, looks real good.
Are those former built-in cabinets on either side of the fireplace? Nice job. There is no comparison between the before and after.
...that's not a mistake, it's rustic
Ralph: Beautiful work...now that is nice...
Ralph
Good looking mantle. Did you have fun cutting that plaster mesh? fun stuff huh?
Great looking
Doug
Oooh, I like that.....It never ceases to amaze me how excellent the quality of work is on this site......Ooops, it is Fine Homebuilding.....<g>
Gee-or-geous!
whadda improvement - congrats, job well done -
Beautiful job Ralph! You`ve given me an idea for the mantle in my own home I`ll be building shortly.
I`m curious as to what the two flanking "shelves" were alongside the original surround? Did they serve any real purpose?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Wow!
Stuff flies off the list too quick here in the photo gallery. I gotta remember to check in more often!
At first, I saw the first two or three shots and was wondering, "Why did he think this work was worth posting?"
Fooled me.
The finished product is not only fine work but fantastic design.
And the candles still in the firebox!
Excellence is its own reward!