Reply by eaglewrangler

You code book might show wood from the firebox set back, it is not so simple, but imagine a triangle going out from the box, thus the wider the mantle, the more distance up it needs to be. Barn wood like pallet wood can have a mixed history, my father loved to paint with creosote until they banned it, because the horses would chew beams otherwise. Pressure wash it and tounge or danish oil.