How To Install An Antique Fireplace Mantel

At our old house we had a mantel that was disproportionally too large and off center for the infinite and it was impossible to mode properly. When we bought our former farmhouse final autumn, it had no fireplace or mantel and I was (not so secretly) happy nigh that. The idea of not having to deal with a gigantic mantel seemed pretty awesome. And it was, but then I got to thinking that I actually kind of missed having i and it would be perfect in our dining room (the living room is just as well minor).

I honestly idea that I would find 1 that I loved at Brimfield, and we saw a few, but nothing that grabbed me. A couple of weeks later, I found this one, in my price range on a local swap site.

It is then incredibly heavy. And we knew nosotros wanted to brand certain it both looked original to the home and that it would be secured to the wall (I'm looking at y'all, Figgy!).

And so, nosotros started with a bare slate wall and our mantel. Nosotros put the mantel face up down and added in a slice of beadboard to fit the opening and secured with paneling nails. We then cutting strips of the beadboard and attached it to the pinnacle and sides of the mantel and so that when nosotros fastened it to the wall it would lay flat and have no gaps. Now, I know you are thinking, "why didn't you merely cut one piece and attach it to the entire back?". That would have made more than sense, nonetheless, we couldn't get a piece of the beadboard big enough because I insist on making every projection more than difficult that it needs to exist and wanted it to run vertically.

Next up, we (and when I say we I mean Darrell...my contribution was moral support and painting), measured the spot for the mantel; centering it on the wall. We and then used a flush cut tool to cut away the molding and so the mantel fit flush to the wall. We gear up the mantel in place and attached it with screws that are used to install kitchen cabinets. The screws were put right up nether the mantel part and painted over so they are not noticeable at all at present.

Removing the molding left a gap of unfinished floor. We remedied that by using a scrap piece of molding that we had just removed to fill in the gap.

The final stride was to pigment. I had initially intended to go with white (our trim color), but I have painted the interior doors a deep greyness/navy (Glidden's Grey Metallic) and wanted to bring some of that depth into this room. Additionally, I really wanted the mantel to be a statement piece and feel that the darker color accomplished that.