If you live in the Birmingham or Huntsville (Alabama) areas it usually only takes a few of days after you place an order.
If you are ordering from out of state it depends on how far the order must be shipped, but it usually takes two weeks or less after your order is placed and the custom dimensions are confirmed. Each mantel has the amount of time it takes to create listed by it in the "Shop Now" section of the website. If you are ordering online and your mantel is being shipped it will be that time plus the transit time listed depending on your location.
We recommend using PayPal, Visa, or Mastercard. After you place an order, a representative will contact you with the required tools for measurement if needed. Once the measurements are assessed we will send you the dimensions of the mantel or other products. After your approval of the dimensions you can choose to pay with PayPal, call us with a Visa or Mastercard payment, or arrange another form of payment. Many homebuilders prefer to mail a check which is no problem. If you wish to mail a check we will proceed with the order and wait for reception of your check. Once the check is received the mantel, mantels, or other products will ship the next day or possibly the same day. Call us if you have any questions about the payment process as we are very flexible.
Each Mantel Shoppe Mantel is fully crated in plywood on all four sides to ensure it arrives safely. After receiving your crated mantel follow these steps to install your mantel.
Flip the crate on its side so that the bottom of the crate is exposed. All screws that secure the mantel to the crate are located here. All screws you see throughout the uncrating and installation process will need to be removed. A Square #2 drill bit will be ideal for the removal.
After the removal of all the screws from the underside of the crate, you will need to remove the top of the crate. All of our crates are secured with staples on all six sides so this will require a little effort to remove the top of the crate. A crow bar or similar shaped object such as the back of a claw hammer are ideal to pry into the creases in the top layer of plywood. Once you have the top popped off the easy part of the installation begins.
We have over 100 possible mantel configurations so each mantel is packaged a little different to maximize shipping efficiency. Most of the time the first thing you will see when you open the crate is the breast (the large upper part) of the mantel and two legs. Shelf style mantels without legs will be fully assembled and ready to install after removal from the crate.
For full mantels with legs, cut the strapping that secures the legs to the breast of the mantel and carefully remove the three pieces from the crate. Be careful not to scrape the mantel parts against each other after they have been unstrapped.
Remove the scribe molding from the back of the breast and sometimes the back of the legs. Once again, every screw you see needs to be removed from the mantel before installation. Do not attempt to install the mantel with any of the crating pieces attached to the mantel. Remove all screws.
After you have removed all screws, place the breast portion of the mantel upside down on its shelf. Make sure you have a smooth, clean surface to do this and do not slide the mantel while on its shelf because debris may scratch the surface.
Take the legs of the mantel and insert the appropriately assigned legs to each side of the mantel while it is upside down. The legs will fit so securely you may need to lightly tap on the feet of the mantel downward to the ground to firmly secure the legs to the breast.
Once the mantel legs are secured to the breast, look for the predrilled screw holes in the back of the mantel where the legs and breast meet and where the returns and breast meet. Take the small silver screws that shipped with the mantel and use them to secure the portions of the mantel together.
Once the mantel is assembled check out our videos below for different types of installation.
The dimensions for each mantel vary. Every mantel we build is custom built to fit your fireplace. Therefore, there aren't many set dimensions except for dimensions like: shelf depth, breast height, leg width, leg depth, etc. If you can email a picture with measurements of your fireplace, we can draw up exact dimensions of the mantels we can build for you and what we recommend. If you see something you would like to change we can change it for you. Use the Fontana mantel below as a guide for all mantel dimensions.
1.Set full mantel up onto brick hearth and flush back against the brick that runs up the wall. Make sure the mantel is somewhat centered with the fireplace opening (where the wood goes).
2.Make a pencil or chalk mark along the top of the shelf. Once your mark is visible and completely across the top of the shelf take the mantel down off the hearth, away from the fireplace and position the mantel so the pieces on the back of the mantel can be removed. The best way to do this is to lay the mantel on it's face on the floor. Make sure you don't scratch the shelf nosing.
3.Remove the scribe moulding. The scribe pieces are the 3 pre-cut pieces on the back of the mantel. The pieces are attached with 16-gauge brads and a good claw hammer is the best way to remove them. A claw hammer works best because it rolls in such a way as to not damage the scribe moulding. Set the pieces aside.
4. Remove the nailing strip from the mantel. It's okay to claw this piece away from the mantel because the back isn't going to be seen and the nailing strip isn't going to be seen so it can be slightly damaged.
5. Take the nailing strip from the mantel and grab a pencil.
6. Fold the nailing strip over and place the top of the strip on the original mark. This new mark is 3/4" below the top of the mantel because the mantel shelf is 3/4" tall.
7. Roll the strip over so the top of the nailing strip is slightly below the second line. Now make a mark on the bottom of the nailing strip.
8. Drill 4-5 holes into the grout of the brick between the last two marks. Set the strip back up and follow your drilling through the nailing strip into the grout holes.
9. Drill the holes in the nailing strip to match up with the holes in the brick. You may want to drill the holes in the nailing strip and the grout at the same time. Just make sure you're drilling into grout and not brick.
10. After your holes are drilled use blue concrete screws to fasten the strip to the wall. Use the same size as the drill bit used to create the holes and at least 2 inches long. Be careful not to tighten the screws too tight or they will strip out and loosen the grout.
11. Slide the mantel back over the nailing strip and center around the firebox. Once centered, use 16-gauge nails or regular finishing nails to fasten the top of the shelf to the nailing strip.
12. Take the 3 pieces of scribe moulding you took off the back of the mantel and put all three in place back against the brick before nailing. Once you have all three pieces in place and everything fits and looks nice nail the scribe moulding to the mantel.
The gap between the mantel where the scribe moulding goes looks like this before the scribe goes on:
For situations where a mantel must wrap around an exteneded profile we use a "Cabinet Mantel." Here is a situation that would require a "Cabinet Mantel:"
A "Cabinet Mantel" is a mantel with an exceptionally deep return such as this Sharpsburg Mantel:
"Cabinet Mantels" are the regular price listed plus $200 or possibly more depending on the exact depth of the mantel.
The scribe moulding which is installed after mounting the mantle is 1/2" wide and will reduce the opening width by 1" and the opening height by 1/2". The scribe is attached to the back of the mantel when shipped. Read More ...
If you purchase your mantel via the internet it may require quick assembly before installation. You will notice there are holes in the breast of the mantel and "dominoes" in the legs that will insert into the breast. Here are pictures to give you an idea of what to expect.
Most of our mantels are displayed in a faux glazed finish. Here are products you can use to achieve this look.
1. Primer: Any primer will work but I've always liked Kilz. I personally like to add a little tint to it instead of having white. Not too much just a little brown to give it an aged look.
2. Lightweight Spackling: If needed fill the tiny pinner nail holes with lightweight Spackling.
3. Sanding Sponges: These are used after the primer coat. Make sure you get the mantel as slick as you can before applying the sanding sealer.
4. Sanding Sealer: The Sanding Sealer will create an extremely slick surface to apply the glaze to. Make sure you thoroughly apply the sanding sealer or the glaze will stick to the mantel on contact, not allowing you to create the exact look you want.
5. Glaze: I like to go very dark brown on the glaze. Apply the glaze all over the mantel and wipe off however much you like.
6. Rags: You will need a lot of them to wipe the glaze off properly.
7. Lacquer or polyurethane: I strongly recommend using the spray can. This part of the process protecst the finish and locks in the glaze.
In many cases, the facing material is a natural material, such as marble, or a rough material, such as brick, which may not be completely straight on the edge. It is recommended that the mantel overlap this material by at least 1/2" to prevent any gaps between the edge of the mantle opening and the facing material. This ensures you will have a straight, even finished edge. Read More ...
We can build most of our mantels from any type of wood (Poplar, Oak, Maple, Cherry, Beech, Mahogany, Pine, Cypress, Alder, Birch, Walnut, etc.). There is an extra charge for stain grade materials. We use Poplar for our paint grade applications but Poplar also stains very well and is no extra charge for stain applications. In some of our bigger mantels we use plaster pieces for some of the decorative mantel parts. The species available are listed by each mantel in the "details" pages.
F: Ideal distance from top of profile to bottom of rough TV opening: 17 inches. This varies is your profile header is more than 12 inches.
G: Ideal width of rough opening: 48" for a 42" firebox. 42" for a 36" firebox.
H. Ideal height: 40 inches.
I. Ideal depth: As deep as possible, at least 24 inches to allow doors to slide back. For bi-fold doors depth is not that much of an issue. Just however far back you want your TV to sit.
J. As much as possible. Will usually depend on the height of the ceiling. The safe measurement is to the bottom of the crown moulding. If you have really tall ceilings, tell us how tall and we'll recommend an ideal height.
No. Every mantel comes thoroughly sanded and ready to prep and finish but we do not do any type of painting or staining. The pictures used for examples were painted in such a way to show the high level of detail for each mantel. Most of the mantels were painted using a 5 step glazed faux finish. We can instruct you on the products and technique we used if you would like to replicate this look. To view examples of what the mantels look like unfinished click here.Read More ...
Depending on what part of the country you are in finding a fireplace will be different for each region. Here are the good ones that we know:-Colonial Fireplace in Pelham, Huntsville, and Robertsdale, AL.-R & R Fireplace in Irondale, AL (205) 951-3211.- Atnip Design In Huntsville, AL. Read More ...
Just as we have hundreds of builders, our products find their way to hundreds of different subdivisions. Here are a few with web sites: Shelby Farms in Alabaster, AL
The Mantel Shoppe services all of the United States and most of Canada.
Locally, The Mantel Shoppe, LLC is distinguished in Birmingham, Gadsden, and Huntsville, Alabama, but we also send many mantels to the Atlanta, Georgia metro area as well as the Nashville, Tn area. We ship out numerous mantels each month on our delivery trucks to areas that are close to Birmingham and Huntsville such as: Chattanooga, Montgomery, Mobile, Meridian, and Memphis. Recently we have had several inquiries and ultimately shipped a lot of mantels to Texas, (most notably the Dallas-Ft. Worth area) due to the rapid rate of new construction in that area. Another area growing rapidly is Charlotte, NC. We have sent several mantels to North Carolina in recent weeks including Raleigh and Durham (a place dubbed the woodworking capital of the United States). It seems we mainly work in the Southeast but we've shipped mantels to Seattle, Maine, Ft. Lauderdale, San Diego, and covered a lot of ground in between.
We will install and measure in the Birmingham metro area and usually in the Huntsville area. If you don't live in one of these areas we will gladly be able to assist you in measuring and installing via email, phone, or fax. Here's a link to help you get started with your measurements. Read How to MeasureRead More ...
On occasions where a small wall exist around the fireplace we must run the trim into the breast of the mantel due to the limited space. This option is only available on about half of our mantel styles. Here is an example of what we mean by "all trim in front."
The mantel is thoroughly protected during shipment by a 1/2 inch plywood container. There is virtually no chance of damage during shipment unless it is intentional.
We try to stay away from arched mantels because of the problems they create with getting everything else right around the fireplace. Most fireboxes have codes that require wood to be 10-12 inches away from the top of where the heat comes out. Most tile and marble applications are 12 inches standard on the top. If we make an arch, we have to start at the top of the profile 12 inches away and the top of the arch goes up to 16 inches or so leaving a rather large gap. The only way to compensate for this is by putting up a larger profile above the fireplace thus costing our customers more to get their fireplace ready for one of our mantels. Also, this raises the mantel height several inches. With flat panel televisions being so popular, above the fireplace is a prime spot for hanging the television. Most of our customers don't want the television to be too tall so this is another reason we stay away from arched mantels. The final reason is our scribe molding. Our scribe molding is a major part of our mantel design and it isn't thin enough to really bend around the inside of the mantel to create a perfect fit while maintaining the style of the mantel. Read More ...
