Rustic Fireplace Mantle

[forgeblast]

We are switching out our wood stove(putting it in the basment to heat down there), for a nice looking LP jotul stove.
We will be putting the stove in our great room(where we need to heat not the mudroom where the wood stove is now).
We were brainstorming what we can do and its a 6' piece of wall (knotty pine) and coming towards you a 3' piece of wall(corner area)(I will post pics as soon as my wife come home with the camera).(came home before I was done typing).

I have been doing fieldstone all summer, so what is a bit more.

We will do 60'' of fieldstone behind the stove (on cement board backer). (i will be picking out 1/4 max thick pieces for it).
We also want a live edge mantle, (i have a granburg chainsaw mill, and Love the Idea of making my own mantle).
It will be 6' long about 6'' thick and most are I think 9'' wide. 60'' from the floor.
I have two cement corbels with rebar and a bar (see pics) to hang them. but they are heavy (the rebar is imbeaded in them, with the bar welded to the rebar.they are 6'' wide at the widest by 9'' tall.

My question is
1. What the heck do I use to hold these to the wall I am really worried about the weight.

Any suggestions on my idea, also live or dead tree? I have an dead elms (tough as nails to saw) on our property, or I can cut any other hardwood, and have hemlock also.
http://www.appalachianwoods.com/furniture/antique_wood_mantel.htm
is similar to what we want to do.

 

[clemsonfor]

Is that the best place for it? It looks a little jamed up, like its in a corner, between that window and that tiny wall. Do you not have a longer wall that you could put in on toward the middle of the room.

 

[forgeblast]

""between that window and that tiny wall""Thats actually of two sets of double doors heading to our deck. We also wish the previous owner, builder planned the layout better. The stove has to go there because then we can move the heat to the back bedrooms easier. Its really the only option we have for placing the stove.
We have that space, two sets of double doors then the same amount of space on the other side where our tv is. Those doors just take up so much space. So with our furniture and kitchen table and kiddo toys there are only so many places on an outside wall that we can place the stove.
(It is 6' of wall, then 6 foot of door, 6'' and then 6 foot of door and 6' of wall where the tv is.)
The smaller wall coming towards us on the right hand side seperates the great room(where the stove will go) with the mud room, you can see it in the stone pictures.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Hang the backer on the wall with lags long enough to reach the studs, or very heavy wood screws. The mantle will mostly sit on the fieldstone, but install long screws at a 45degree angle clear into the studs. Recess the screw heads and drive dowels into the holes, then cope the dowels off flush with the mantle.

In that tight a space, be sure to get a zero clearance stove and chimney.

 

[keegs]

The mason that built the chimney for us also put up a brick hearth inside for a wood stove. I insulated the stud bays behind the hearth with mineral wool and put up 5/8 inch fire rated sheetrock over the studs. The mason layed the brick up using wall ties to tie it to the studs. He used cored brick and anchored the first course to the floor with a flat bar and some lags. He left a 2 inch air space between the brick and the sheetrock. I used ceramic tile over dura-rock on the floor around the hearth.

 

[MarkV]

Have you checked Jotul's clearance requirements for the stove you are looking at? Our Jotul is a wood burner and I don't think that setting would meet the setback requirements. May well be fine for an LP stove but the insurance companies can get very strict when it comes to stoves meeting code requirements.

MarkV

 

[forgeblast]

The jotuls clearance requirements for the lp stove are 2'' from the top, and it can sit on a hardwood floor,2'' to the back and 3'' to the sides.
Jotul GF 600 DV II Firelight Gas Stove

Rear: 2” (51 mm) from Rear Shroud
Ceiling: 30” (762 mm) from Stove Top
Corner: 3” (76 mm) from Stove Top
Sides: 3” (76 mm) from Stove Top
Minimum Clearances from the Vent Pipe
to Combustibles:
Horizontal Run:
Off the top of the pipe - 2” (51 mm)
Off the sides and bottom - 1” (25 mm)
Vertical Run:
All sides 1” (25 mm)

 

[MarkV]

Sounds like you are good to go. It has been a long time but I remember much bigger clearances for mine when we did it. May want to watch those curtains though.

MarkV

 

[TRR]

Since you have knotty pine in the room already you may want to consider using that for the mantle as well. It sounds like you want to cut your own mantle from trees on your property. While it is possible, you must season it before you use it (which takes a long time for 6" lumber). Otherwise it will crack, split, shrink and do other bad things while it dries out in the house. You may be better off purchasing the mantle from a lumber dealer. Be sure it is kiln dried and they know what the application is. My neighbor did a mantle like you plan and still had problems with it splitting - since he'd hired it done, they came out and replaced it. What you are planning makes for a beautiful mantle!

 

[Western]

I am going to make a mantle out of Oak, possibly also for the side columns. You may have to do what I am, I have several Oaks down and will let them finish out to one year, that will give me time to find or make a chainsaw mill for mostly just this little job.

I think a natural finish to the outside would be nice, any curvature to the original wood with knots or whatever, but naturally flat to the wall.

I think yours will look sharp with the rock. Have you considered using those big heavy ones for a hearth, or possibly a wood rack? then you may be able to avoid the "attaching to the wall" thing. Just a thought.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you drop a log and let it dry, it will just weather check. You have to cure hardwood to keep it from checking. There are a couple ways I know of, besides commercial steam kilns: shellac (several coats) the ends of the logs and let them air dry in the shade for 5 years or so, or sink the log in running water for six months and let the water wash the pitch out.

The old Norse and Swedes used to sink timbers in 2000' of water for a few weeks. When they hauled them up, they were flexible enough to shape and block into a ship's prow.

 

[forgeblast]

curtins will be moved no problems there.
Larry I had not heard of that technique, I knew I had to get it down to 10-12% moisture but was not sure how or for how long. Will they weather check if I cut the log, seal the ends and peal the bark off?

"I think a natural finish to the outside would be nice, any curvature to the original wood with knots or whatever, but naturally flat to the wall."
Thats what we were thinking, possibly going with a "Live edge" type of mantle with 3 coats of semi-gloss.

With the corbels we were just throwing around ideas when I remembered I had these (for a shelf by the bread oven we are making). They are heavy, and I worry that the weight of them, along with the weight of the mantle will be too much. I really cant find any info on what type of anchor(s) are used to hold the mantle to the wall, some make a box mantle with 3 sides and keep the back open and use a ledger board, some people had it planned out ahead of time and had rebar drilled and epoxied into their studs.

I have a couple of things I am working on first, but as i am pulling field stone out for the house, I have been saving the best pieces for inside. I really want to understand how the whole thing goes together first.

Thank you all really really apprecaite the info.

 

[clemsonfor]

I am going to make a mantle out of Oak, possibly also for the side columns. You may have to do what I am, I have several Oaks down and will let them finish out to one year, that will give me time to find or make a chainsaw mill for mostly just this little job.

I think a natural finish to the outside would be nice, any curvature to the original wood with knots or whatever, but naturally flat to the wall.

I think yours will look sharp with the rock. Have you considered using those big heavy ones for a hearth, or possibly a wood rack? then you may be able to avoid the "attaching to the wall" thing. Just a thought.

Have you done this before? Im just asking cause i think a whole tree left on the ground for a year will start to go bad, as in rotting or spalting or whatever they call it. You may go to cut into it and it has fungus and rot and is dryrotting inside from the moisture not being able to escape and getting to hot?

As a forester they dont keep wood out dry for that long, they can keep it under water in a pond or under sprinkler for a while, as it has something to do with insects and wet, in the pond there is an absense of oxygen as well.

 

[forgeblast]

I did research some solar, and personal lumber kilns. Looks like people are making them for around 2-300 with the cost of materials and the dehydrator.

I got in touch with a rustic mantle maker and this is what he said:
"Installation is dependent on your walls construction. Based upon the information you provided I assume your wall is traditional stud frame construction. I would start by installing two double-lapped 2x10" blocking in the two stud cavities where the mantel is to be installed. If you can access the wall from the backside the next step would be to drill a hole through the blocking. Then drill two holes in the mantel two thirds of the depth of the mantel. Then simply install lag screws through the blocking and into the mantel. If you can't access the wall from the backside then screw the blocking to the rear of the mantel with the lag screw then put the blocking and mantel into the stud cavities. To secure the blocking in place screw through the side of the stud into the blocking. Repeat on the other side.

The dimension of the mantel at the listed price are as follows: 5" thickness, 8" width, 60" length. I have larger pieces available at an additional price. The weight of the mantel will be between 60-75 lbs. "

 

[forgeblast]

Fireplace Mantel Installation Instructions and Tips - How To
also has some good info on various ways to install a mantel also