Fireplace mantel

Closed on a home today and it needs a lot of updating. One of the things it needs is a new mantel on a brick fireplace. I was thinking about buying a 6x6" cedar post and using it.
Any ideas how to mount it to brick?

The old mantel is light and hollow and it has two arms which just slid into openings in the brick.

Thanks. I'm handy man dumb.

Also, I'd really rather find an old 6x6 cedar post that is grey and weathered from being outdoors so if anyone knows where I can find one please let me know.

M&G sawmill in Huntsville. Good website. Mike and Glen are great guys.

It will be pretty easy to install. Go to the hardware store and ask the. They will sell you plastic anchors, and a concrete drill. Drill holes in the concrete joints, drive in the anchors, and screw in the screws.

This is the way most are mounted...your not going to hold a 6x6 with plastic anchors.

I just went through the same thing. Built a hollow 12' mantle out of 2x6's and stained them to match my beam that goes across my ceiling. It's got a top, bottom, and front all mitered 45* edged and the end caps as well. Looks just like a solid beam. Since the back was hollow it was perfect size for a 2x3 to fit in. I mounted the 2x3 to the brick with concrete anchors. Then slid the beam onto the 2x3 and used 3" screws to attach the beam to the 2x3 very solid. Also painted the fire box gold/bronze to a flat black. I'm also in the process of stoning the entire fireplace at the moment.

What I started with


Beam after it was mounted to the wall and stained.



Also made a flat platform out of 2x6's for the hearth to match the beam


Still got a bit of stoning to do and a ton of grouting but it's coming along.

Looks great. Your fireplace looks almost exactly like mine. Irritates the piss out of me that it's off centered!!

Yep jacks with my OCD sometimes especially when it was white. Now it blends a lot better and the stone basically makes the wall look 100x better. Also looks a lot better in person the pictures don't do it justice. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle though. Taken me a lot more time than I thought it would.

When I redid our fireplace I set three or four 10" long pieces of 1/2" rebar into the wall with a quick set cement/glue stuff....comes in a tube...got it at Home Depot....anyway, set the rebar into the wall then squeezed some glue stuff into holes drilled in the back of the mantle....slid over the rebar and hold for 15-20 minutes....

We selected a beautiful piece of mesquite....found it in Canton....looked for 3-4 months before finding the one we wanted.

This is the before........1979 in all its glory...fireplace sat on the floor....

And this is after....the circle and star is a single rock....took two days to cut that stone alone...raised it 16" to add a hearth....used the same stone as the star


After decorations and TV mounted.....The cross on the right is 6' tall....


...and a closer shot of the mantel.....


I have pictures of the mounting somewhere....if you choose to go this route I'll find them and get them to you with better details...Jes

Wow that looks amazing Snake!

Thanks! It's a huge improvement over what we started with.....also got the SniperRAB seal of approval when he and his lovely bride came down and saw it.....

X 1,000,000,000 on the time....I had the living room floor covered in rock for two months rocking that fireplace....I described it as taking three 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles....opening each box and throwing half the pieces away....then taking the three boxes and mixing them all together....then try to put the puzzle together...

That is exactly what it's like