Have you ever seen a fireplace without a mantel before? Imagine a window or a door without a frame. For that matter imagining hanging pictures on the wall without frames. Are you getting a good idea now. How do doors, Windows, and pictures look without frames? Fireplaces without fireplace mantel shelves are just as dull!
Perhaps your fireplace already has a mantel. However, mantles come in dozens and dozens of shapes, styles, and colors. The mantel that you have now may not suit your taste.
In order to be pleased with the look and feel of your fireplace, you will have to be pleased with the mantel. Think about it this way. A whole in the wall looks the same as any other hole in the wall. What makes one fireplace look better than the other is the mantel.
There are several areas of control you have when considering installing a fireplace mantel or changing the one you have. First, fireplace mantles come in varying sizes. This is independent of the size of the whole in the wall itself. You can go for a modest small mantel or a more aggressive large mantel. Basically the inner portions of the mantel will be dictated either size of the hole in the wall. However, the mantel can be built out as far as you want.
A key part of successfully installing a fireplace mantel is being able to make correct measurements and correct cut of wood. If you doubt your skill at doing this than you might want to hire a professional to design and install your fireplace mantel.
The cheapest mantles are those that you build yourself. Medium cost of mantles are those that come in kits. These are nice option. You purchase the mantel in pieces and you simply put it together and install it. The most expensive mantels, of course, are those that you have built custom for you. You will have to hire a local contractor to do this for you. They are going to charge a premium for materials and labor.
Our recommendation is that you purchased a buyer placed mantel kit. First of all, they are relatively inexpensive. Second, you know what it is going to look like. Finally, you’ll save a lot of money on labor costs by not having to hire someone to install it for you.