An acquaintance of mine had a basic brick fireplace in her house, and wanted a simple shelf mantle built and mounted above the fireplace. The construction was relatively simple. A 1x8 x 60" was the main top of the shelf, and then I selected some 1x4 pieces to make the box part of the frame. I kept the back of the box open so the completed mantle could slide over some simple 2x4 brackets I fastened to the brick with some tapcons. I inset the box from the top part of the shelf to run crown molding along the bottom edge of the top shelf surface. the bottom of the box is inset an additional 1/2" or so for the quarter round trim around the bottom. I then filled all the gabs and imperfections with wood filler, sanded it down, and then stained with an "Espresso" stain. I then finished the mantel with 2 coats of rub on polyurethane. The mantel simply slides right onto the 2x4 brackets and are fastened from the top with 3 screws. Overall, it was a pleasant, easy project.
An acquaintance of mine had a basic brick fireplace in her house, and wanted a simple shelf mantle built and mounted above the fireplace. The construction was relatively simple. A 1x8 x 60" was the main top of the shelf, and then I selected some 1x4 pieces to make the box part of the frame. I kept the back of the box open so the completed mantle could slide over some simple 2x4 brackets I fastened to the brick with some tapcons. I inset the box from the top part of the shelf to run crown molding along the bottom edge of the top shelf surface. the bottom of the box is inset an additional 1/2" or so for the quarter round trim around the bottom. I then filled all the gabs and imperfections with wood filler, sanded it down, and then stained with an "Espresso" stain. I then finished the mantel with 2 coats of rub on polyurethane. The mantel simply slides right onto the 2x4 brackets and are fastened from the top with 3 screws. Overall, it was a pleasant, easy project.
