Well, I finally got a digital SLR. Been dying for one for the longest time. It came just in time too. I finally finished my living room.
Here is a pic of a mantel I built for my living room. Thanks to everyone here at Breaktime who helped…I had asked questions about clearance (from the flue for the stove) and how to mount it to the brick wall (2×4 lag bolted into studs behind brick, then mantel screwed thru the top with deck screws.
The mantel is ~76″ long. It is made from mdf crown trim, clear pine, and some decorative trim (the dental detail). The corbels are pine blocks with decorative scrollwork glued on the sides. The pine blocks were “enhanced” with some boards routed on my router table to give it a more beefed up look. They are glued and toe-screwed from behind into the bottom of the mantel. They are for show only and don’t support the mantel in anyway.
Replies
Mantel looks nice. Step back and take some more pics. Lets see how the wood stove/surround looks.
jt8
"The cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." --Oscar Wilde
My thought . I wanna see the stove ! LOL.
Tim
Here's a before pic of the room...it's actually a mid-renovation pic. You can see the brick surround and stove. The wainscoting was also up but not painted yet.I've also attached some closeup pics of the mantel.
Emax,very nice.Like John said,step back take more pics.Thanks for posting your work.
george c.
I could have sworn those corbels would be plastic-based material, surprised to hear they are pine.
Very clean job, nice work!
Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Thanks all for the compliments. I couldn't have built this without all the knowledge I've gained here...from picking the right primer and paint to joinery. This site is a treasure chest of empowerment for us DIYer's. Those corbels were the toughest part. I walked around Lowes and my lumberyard for at least 2 hours looking at all the different options. I have to say, designing is almost as hard as building. Because of the dimensions of mantel, I couldn't go with any of the precast or premade stuff online. They were simply too big or too small. I did find some at Lowes that were the correct size but they were too intricate with carved grape leaves and all. It was too much for the simple, clean lines of the trim in the room.I'll try to get more detailed shots and more of the room. My wide angle zoom isn't working right with my digital camera right now. I'll see what I can do.
Edited 12/5/2005 6:55 pm ET by emaxxman
It's beautiful. You should be proud.
Ahhh.....finally.....a place for the mantel clock.
Nice work!
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Funny you mention the clock. The same day I got the mantel setup, my wife asked if we could go to the clock store. I barely had the cordless driver put away.
I don't mean to be a stickler here, its a nice mantle, but doesn't a double walled fluepipe need to be 6" minimum from combustibles?
Gord
I did research the clearance. I asked a local stove and fireplace store as well as here:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=61805.1To be honest, we don't really use the stove much and the flue just gets warm to touch. The stove does a great job of heating the room but not much else. It keeps the downstairs luke warm so we just keep the central heat at a comfortable level. I had thought of selling the stove and converting to a gas fireplace. I just like the look of fireplaces more. It was too costly and not worth the benefit.
Thanks .
You still makin payments on that stove ? <G> Those are expensive .
I hate to hear its not doin the job.
Nice work.
Tim
Yeah, there are still payments on the stove. The bad news is that I have 25 more years of payments on a 30 year payment plan. The good news is that I get a free house when I'm done paying for the stove. :-) LOL!!!
My apologies.
Clearance is not much of an issue with natural gas stoves. Super efficient. Many are direct vented.
Sorry, I assumed it was a wood stove.
We had natural gas fireplaces in a previous home. Also not looking for heat, but its nice to have music, a glass of wine and talk by the fire.Gord
No apologies needed. There's a faux ceramic log in the stove. I thought it was wood burning too when I first saw it. I hear ya on the mood you get with the stove/fireplace. I'm the kind of guy that wears shorts in winter. I would sweat to death if we had that stove going all day long...not to mention broke given the cost of natural gas.