Fireplace Mantels & Floating Shelves

We will talk about these two products together as they are essentially the same thing; they are just located in different spaces and have a few things to consider on their own. For both of these items, it is most important to use dry, stable wood; either our recycled timber or our live edge selection which is furniture-grade dryness.

Mantels:

We can do any style of mantel (see bottom of page for photos):

Planed smooth and stained- any size
Rough-sawn and wire-brushed- any size
Rustic and weathered: you can choose your particular character piece
Built-out cap Mantels
Live edge or quarter Log

We can also make any size and shape of CORBEL if you choose.

Our inventory is always fluctuating; gather your dimensions and come see in person to choose.

Installation: We recommend that the mantel be attached to the wall when the framing is exposed. This way, the mantel can be fastened through the back directly on the studs and then the backer board and the tile or stone can be laid and cut to the mantel. This installation method is the strongest, having the mantel tied directly to the structure. This method also maintains the flawless front face of your mantel.

Sizing and Design Considerations:

Fireplace Mantels and Hearths

The first consideration for your mantel over a gas or wood-burning fireplace is the height you want the mantel on the wall above the unit. For example, if you want a television above your mantel, or perhaps you want a large painting above the mantel, this means your mantel must drop down and go closer to the heating unit. The installation manual for your particular fireplace will explain how far we can come off the wall based on the height of the mantel.

We have some diagrams to explain

Hearths can be a great addition to gas fireplaces to match the mantel, or if you do not have space above the fireplace, a hearth can work instead.

Design tips:

Once we know how far off the wall we can come; we need to think about the thickness or the face value

We suggest to make your mantel as thick as can be for visual impact. From across the room, there is often furniture that can block the view of the fireplace so a thicker mantel will look impressive and draw you over to the fireplace area, especially in large, open-concept homes.

A note on Length: for situations where the fireplace will have stone or tile installed from floor to ceiling, we suggest having the length of the wood less than the width of where the stone is going. This makes it easy to install the stone around the ends of the mantel for a clean flawless finish.

We use OSMO brand wood finish to seal or stain your mantel.

Floating shelves:

Resawn Recycled in Douglas Fir or Hemlock: We can do any size and style of floating shelves. We can mill any thickness and most commonly do 2” thick shelving and most commonly do 10 to 11” deep.

Live Edge: Our live edge inventory can achieve 2″ to 3″ thick. We do have some available thicker as well as 1/4 log options.

Installation: When it is a new build, We recommend that the feature shelves be installed directly onto the exposed framing through the back edge of the shelf for strength. If you are doing a renovation and want to add in some floating shelves, we have very strong hardware we use to mount the floating shelves on any existing wall surface (plaster and lathe, tile or drywall). When we are installing with the hardware, we generally need to make the shelves a bit thicker in order to hide our metal hardware so that we can achieve a true floating shelf. If you just want some light-duty small decorative floating shelves, these can also be installed through the front face and we will make you plugs to hide the fasteners.