Rebuilding my mantle – advice needed …
MuckSavage
| Posted in General Discussion on
A few years ago I built a mantle for my fireplace out of some 3/4″ ash boards. It is about 48″ wide, 19″ deep and 2.5″ thick. I edge glued the boards into two panels, and cut some 1″ spacers to get to the required thickness. The spacers are 19″ long, running from back to front. I added some additional spacers at the back to provide an attachment point for lag screws coming from the fireplace side. I then applied some 3/8″ ash boards to the three out-facing edges to complete the project. It looks beautiful.
I noticed this past winter that a few of the panel boards had separated. It’s not noticable now, but I expect it to reappear when
the heating season begins. We use our fireplace lots in the winder (24×7 in Jan/Feb) , and the space behind the mantle is an open space (with a stainless chimney passing through) that allows the hot air to escape at the top. I guess that leaving the back side of the mantle open allowed the hot dry air to enter the mantle and dry it out. So, now I’m planning the new mantle and would appreciate opinions on construction techniques.
I don’t plan to rehabilitate the existing mantle. My plan is to use 3/4″ oak plywood panels, with 1″ stripes of plywood, on edge, to be used as the spacers. I’ll have the spacers going back to front again, but this time I will wrap all four edges of the mantle in 3/8″ oak lumber. I’ll add additional spacers at the attachment points. My hope is that having all four sides covered and using plywood for its, hopefully, consistent expansion qualities will result in a mantle to admire for a lifetime.
Any recommendations? How far apart should the spacers be?
Thanks in advance.
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A shorter question and maybe a photo would deliver more responses. I'm having difficulty following you - sorry
SA
heat vs. humidity......
If it is getting pretty hot you may be faced with warpage issues as much as overdrying.
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