| Project by Richforever | posted 333 days ago | 1291 views | 0 times favorited | 9 comments |  |
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The old 1950’s narrow brick fireplace just didn’t fit with other projects going on in the home. This is the new mantel made from select pine and stained rosewood. It has three coats of gloss polycrylic finish.
Pocket screws hold everything together in the fields. The escutcheon boxes are edge-beaded and attached within sliding dovetail slots. A 45 degree lock miter router bit made all the right angle joints. There are 62 painstakingly cut dentils glued to a small trim board under the crown molding so that the dentils stay off the surface by 1/8 inch so as to cast a shadow. The inside corners of the moldings are coped for a good fit. The base molding hides the faces of bricks in the hearth, and was routed with a special bit, and matches all the base molding in the house.
The marble pillars were tough. They are made from 2×4’s and routed pieces of mdf and drywall mud. They structurally support the escutcheon boxes and mantel shelf, which was raised 6” and extended out 3 1/2 inches so that Grandpa and Grandma’s clock could have it’s rightful position.
Never did faux painting before, so had to get a book. It took four tries. Three types of left-over house paint was mixed and used to match the tone of the green slate hearth.
I changed the metal and glass fireplace doors to metallic gold to match the mirror. The pillasters in the over mantel are made from mdf. The cornices are blocks of 2×4’s. The sconce lights are from Rejuvenation, and I had to wire them down from the attic on a separate circuit. The mirror came from a place on the east coast because I couldn’t find an oval one around the northwest. It cost more than the rest of the project combined.
Total time was two and a half months. (The living room survived all the plastic sheets, paint, tools, sawdust, etc.).
-- Rich, Seattle, WA
9 comments so far
Scott Bryan
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20603 posts in 715 days
posted 333 days ago
This is a wonderful project- one which you should be beaming over. The attention to detail that you put into the build is outstanding. This piece would be a compliment in any home.
Nice job!!
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
mtnwild
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2013 posts in 421 days
posted 333 days ago
Magnificent! Really! Excellent design and choice of materials. Great attention to the details.
-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.
dennis mitchell
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3789 posts in 1208 days
posted 333 days ago
Nice project. Looks original.
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Dusty56
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3460 posts in 581 days
posted 332 days ago
In the first photo ,The pink of the bricks and the red of the mantle really clash .The brass doors might stand out better if you paint the bricks white to mimic the mirror area . JMO The mantle itself looks great !
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
Todd Thomas
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4827 posts in 342 days
posted 332 days ago
looks great…you’ve done a very nice job…..
-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †
Richforever
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339 posts in 614 days
posted 331 days ago
Dusty,
Thanks for the input. I think a lot of the tone of the bricks in the picture is due to the flash when the picture was taken. Normally the bricks don’t show up in the room lighting – especially when the sconce lights are used because they are in a shadow.
I may try putting white paper over the bricks to get a better idea of the effect, since I just finished the walls next to the mantel and they are white double-tiered raised panel wainscoting. Thanks again.
-- Rich, Seattle, WA
Karson
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25792 posts in 1294 days
posted 331 days ago
A great job on the mantle. Nice finishing job.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Dusty56
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3460 posts in 581 days
posted 331 days ago
I wasn’t thinking about camera flash …sorry The mantle work itself is great to say the least : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
Mytoya
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106 posts in 108 days
posted 102 days ago
You have done a great job. I have been trying to faux paint marble for years now. Nothing I did looked anything like marble. Great Job!!!!!!!!