A Mantle You Can Make

It's not uncommon to find a house that has a place where a mantle used to be. If your house is like mine, there's a missing mantle, but the iron grate in the center is still there.

Replacement mantles aren't always easy to find, especially in good condition. They often need scraped and refinished, have pieces missing or don't fit the space. If they are in good condition, the price makes them unattractive.

I recently found a hansome mantle that can be easily recreated and adapted to fit your space.

As you can see, the simple styling provides a mantle you can create with standard lumber.

This mantle is one of two located in a home I am guessing could be from the 1840s. The age of these mantles might not match the age of the house. The home has a center chimney construction and there is a simpler mantle with a much larger opening elsewhere in the house.

All of the wood is about 1" thick. The posts are 34" tall and 7" wide. The shelf is 60" long and 9.5" deep. The backboard is 4" x 60". The keystone is 7" at the up and 6" at the bottom. The half-circle is 1.5". The board behind the keystone (sorry, I don't know the name) is 50" x 8". There are 3" sides and 4" boards that bring the width of the mantle out to match the width of the shelf. (4" plus 1" thick sides and 10"--the mantle is 50", the shelf is 60").

There is some small detailing etched into the pieces behind the keystone.

I may try building one of these soon. I'll let you know how it turns out.