How to Build a Rustic Mantel

A rustic mantel suits a log cabin or a home decorated with antiques and primitives. Choose weathered boards from an old barn or purchase rough-sawed lumber from a sawmill or garden center. If you want to use newly planed lumber, distress it yourself by rounding the edges with a rasp and adding random hammer blows to make your mantel look as if it's seen decades of use. Finish it with stain or paint it with old-fashioned milk paint. You can install just the mantel over the fireplace or add vertical boards to frame the fireplace as well.

2-inch by-8-inch board
1-inch by-10-inch board
Measuring tape
Carpenter's square
Table saw or handsaw
Coping saw (optional)
2-inch flat-head screws
Drill
3-inch flat-head screws
Level
3-1/2-inch flat-head screws
3/8-inch wood pegs
Carpenter's glue
Paint or stain

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the space above the fireplace where you want to mount the mantel, allowing at least 6 inches on both sides of the opening to attach the mantel to the wall.
- 2
  Saw a 2-inch by 8-inch board the length of the mantel, using a handsaw or table saw. Choose an antique or distressed board to give the mantel a rustic appearance, or use a section split from a log.
- 3
  Saw a 1-inch by 10-inch board the same length. This will be the ledger board, which you'll fasten flat against the wall to support the mantel.
- 4
  Lay a carpenter's square on a piece of 2-inch-thick wood and draw two 5-inch-long lines at right angles. Connect the ends of the lines to form a triangle, connecting them with either a straight line or a curve. This will form one of the supports. Saw it out with a handsaw, table saw or coping saw if it's curved. Cut a second triangle the same shape as the first.
- 5
  Attach the triangular supports to the 1-inch by 10-inch board with 2-inch flat-head screws through the back of the 1-inch board and into the edge of the triangles. Position the supports so they're 6 inches from each end and so the flat tops of the supports are level with the top edge of the board.
- 6
  Lay the 2-inch by 8-inch mantel board along the top of the ledger board and the supports. Drill pilot holes for 3-inch flat-head screws down through the mantel board and into the top of the triangular supports and the ledger board. Plan for at least one screw in each support and two to three into the ledger board. Drill the holes to sink the heads of the screws so you can cover them with 3/8-inch wooden pegs. Don't assemble the mantel yet, though you may want to put on a primer coat of paint or do preliminary finishing before it's mounted.
- 7
  Mount the ledger board on the wall over the fireplace, checking to see that it's level by placing a carpenter's level on the top. Use 3-1/2-inch screws to fasten it to the studs.
- 8
  Lay the mantel board on top of the ledger board and screw it in place, using the pilot holes you drilled. Spread carpenter's glue on the sides of 3/8-inch pegs and insert them above the screws. Finish the mantel with paint or stain.

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