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My wife and I looked long and hard for a mantel design that was attractive yet different then the kits you buy at the home store. Anyway, we finally found one we liked in a magazine. Basically, we would have pieces that go up each side, with two beams across as the mantel shelf. The rest of the wall going up would be covered with Cultured Stone.
My dilemma is this: I need to find a good way to mount the beams to the wall without showing any of the supporting hardware. There will be two – one is 4″x8″, the other which would be below it is 4″x7″. The design calls for lentils under the lower beam but I’m not sure that it is really for support, although I’m sure it will provide some.
I’m trying to look at this as if the beams were mounted without the lentils to see what the strongest mounting technique would be. As an additional note, there will be two 2″x8″s mounted across the wall, on top of each other, partly for something to mount to, but mostly because I need to build it out a bit so the thick Cultured stone doesn’t cover up the whole shelf. I thought one way to do this would be thick steel “L” brackets that could be attached to the back of the top beam and then over the top of the 2×8. The bottom beam would have the bracket mounted to the top of the beam and then to the 2×8 on the wall. As I mentioned, since I am building this out a little from the wall there will actually be a little bit of a lip for the lower beam to sit on, but really only about 3″.
I’d be interested in hearing what ideas other people have for this. Given that I live in Connecticut and I’ve seen tons of barnwood beam mantels it amazes me that when I describe this to people in the hardware and home stores they just give me a blank stare.
Replies
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Try Keylock newel post fasteners. I've never used them in this way, but I bet they would work great.
*Joe:Steve's suggestion to use the Keylocks works real well. Takes some fiddlin' to get them good and tight but they do a nice job.We do a lot of beam mantels and my favorite is the Sure-Tite newel bolts screwed into a stud. I hang 6x12's off them all the time and have had no problems.Have fun, Bill
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My wife and I looked long and hard for a mantel design that was attractive yet different then the kits you buy at the home store. Anyway, we finally found one we liked in a magazine. Basically, we would have pieces that go up each side, with two beams across as the mantel shelf. The rest of the wall going up would be covered with Cultured Stone.
My dilemma is this: I need to find a good way to mount the beams to the wall without showing any of the supporting hardware. There will be two - one is 4"x8", the other which would be below it is 4"x7". The design calls for lentils under the lower beam but I'm not sure that it is really for support, although I'm sure it will provide some.
I'm trying to look at this as if the beams were mounted without the lentils to see what the strongest mounting technique would be. As an additional note, there will be two 2"x8"s mounted across the wall, on top of each other, partly for something to mount to, but mostly because I need to build it out a bit so the thick Cultured stone doesn't cover up the whole shelf. I thought one way to do this would be thick steel "L" brackets that could be attached to the back of the top beam and then over the top of the 2x8. The bottom beam would have the bracket mounted to the top of the beam and then to the 2x8 on the wall. As I mentioned, since I am building this out a little from the wall there will actually be a little bit of a lip for the lower beam to sit on, but really only about 3".
I'd be interested in hearing what ideas other people have for this. Given that I live in Connecticut and I've seen tons of barnwood beam mantels it amazes me that when I describe this to people in the hardware and home stores they just give me a blank stare.