Wife thinks she wants a fireplace mantel?

[Highbeam]

i hollowed out my beam so i could put a 2x4 on first then attached the beam after i slid it over my 2x4. kind of a pain but eventually it worked out.

Hollowed it out? Like with a million circular saw cuts? Then did you run a screw through the top of the shelf into the 2x4?

 

[worktolearn13]

Hollowed it out? Like with a million circular saw cuts? Then did you run a screw through the top of the shelf into the 2x4?

i set up my table saw and figured my width in the middle i needed for the 2x4, and then yeah a lot of cuts to get it sectioned, then broke up the slits with hammer and a chizzle. i didnt want any opening shown so i had to be carfull not to over cut and then chizzled out the ends so the 2x4 ends would fit about half and hour for one post. Also i needed to cut my 2x4 in half end to end and scew into the wall in sections. that added a lot of stability to it. post was screwed into the 2x4 from the top and bottom. i even angled a few screws from top of the beam into the wall studs.
It was some work but cheap way to get a decent look for my mantle. some people where trying to get me to build a box that appeared like a beam but in my opinion would of took a lot longer unless your familiar with wood working and good at it. To hire someone to ether put a beam up or create a beam (finished and stained) was looking like $300 on up. Look up diy mantles there is some good ideas.

 

[Highbeam]

i set up my table saw and figured my width in the middle i needed for the 2x4, and then yeah a lot of cuts to get it sectioned, then broke up the slits with hammer and a chizzle. i didnt want any opening shown so i had to be carfull not to over cut and then chizzled out the ends so the 2x4 ends would fit about half and hour for one post. Also i needed to cut my 2x4 in half end to end and scew into the wall in sections. that added a lot of stability to it. post was screwed into the 2x4 from the top and bottom. i even angled a few screws from top of the beam into the wall studs.
It was some work but cheap way to get a decent look for my mantle. some people where trying to get me to build a box that appeared like a beam but in my opinion would of took a lot longer unless your familiar with wood working and good at it. To hire someone to ether put a beam up or create a beam (finished and stained) was looking like $300 on up. Look up diy mantles there is some good ideas.

Thank you.

 

[begreen]

A french cleat is sometimes also used to hang a heavy shelf or mantel. In the case of a beam you would rout out a cavity for the cleat in the cavity and room for the bottom half that is attached to the wall.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/75436
https://www.monolocoworkshop.com/2013/06/fireplace-mantle.html

 

[Smoked]

I did matching corbels ? to set the shelf/mantle on. I think in your case you could do something creative with a split matching pair.

 

[Smoked]

Another thought is if you could find the right slab that had a natural curve or indentation on one side, it could be cut so you had clearance for the pipe but more depth in other areas. I like live edge stuff and personally think it ends up working in areas where you normally would not imagine it looking good. How much clearance do you have behind the pipe vs. min?

 

[Itsals1]

Thanks for the great mantel ideas! I think I've convinced my wife that we are better off leaving everything as is. I believe that the best thing for us to do is just replace our Jotul with a new RSF or a Tulikivi, that way the fireplace can be designed with a mantel. She wants to wait a year or two because our Oslo is only about 8 years old.