Fireplace mantel suggestions/thoughts

[Gixxerjoe04]

My wife’s friend asked if I could make them a mantel, figured it wouldn’t be anything complicated.  Well she sent me a pic and a rough sketch of what they were wanting.  It’s basically a hollow mantel with 3 sections inside for a small shelf for dvd and directv box.  My thought was easy, make a plywood box, and put a solid wood face on it, and do plywood shelf inside.  They want to stain it themselves and hang it.  What are your all’s thoughts or concerns.  I wonder how the plywood/glue in it would handle the heat, which is my main concern.  The face would be two inch wide, didn’t know if that would be a problem with movement, or how I would attach it to allow wood movement.  The second pic is what she sent which gave her the idea, but won’t really look like it.  Her drawing should give you an idea.  So any thoughts or help would be appreciated.   

[wdwerker]

Rough rule of thumb, from the top of the fireplace opening you can go out 1 inch for every 2 inches up to the bottom of a wood mantle. Any lip that hangs down will trap heat. A double bottom with an airspace between would protect components. A 1 1/2" faceframe would let you use 2 layers of 1/2" ply & a 1/2" gap. Cleat hang the mantle the attached part of the cleat mounted inside the mantle as a partial back and the wall hung section would be the remainder of the back. Holes in the cleat would allow wires to be concealed.

Or a complete back could just be screwed to the wall when the door is open. I always cleat hang but forgot about the door in your design. Concealed cup hinges may not hold the door shut well if its heavy. Don't use MDF !

[Gixxerjoe04]

1 hour ago, wdwerker said:

Rough rule of thumb, from the top of the fireplace opening you can go out 1 inch for every 2 inches up to the bottom of a wood mantle. Any lip that hangs down will trap heat. A double bottom with an airspace between would protect components. A 1 1/2" faceframe would let you use 2 layers of 1/2" ply & a 1/2" gap. Cleat hang the mantle the attached part of the cleat mounted inside the mantle as a partial back and the wall hung section would be the remainder of the back. Holes in the cleat would allow wires to be concealed.

Or a complete back could just be screwed to the wall when the door is open. I always cleat hang but forgot about the door in your design. Concealed cup hinges may not hold the door shut well if its heavy. Don't use MDF !

It won't have a door like the one pictured, probably shouldn't have posted a pic of it since it's not really anything like it, but would give you an idea I guess.  Figured I'd get maple plywood and use maple for the front since they're staining it, of course the only maple I have is curly maple which I'm def not going to waste.  Got any other plywood/wood combos that might be a better option or stain well, poplar perhaps?

[wdwerker]

Poplar only if it going to be stained very dark. Alder wood and red Birch plywood can be stained to look like cherry quite convincingly. Alder is a little soft and only the highest grades are knot free. Soft maple is a decent choice. Dye under the stain makes for a better result. 

Is it going to have any kind of doors ?

[Gixxerjoe04]

8 minutes ago, wdwerker said:

Poplar only if it going to be stained very dark. Alder wood and red Birch plywood can be stained to look like cherry quite convincingly. Alder is a little soft and only the highest grades are knot free. Soft maple is a decent choice. Dye under the stain makes for a better result. 

Is it going to have any kind of doors ?

No, just open holes/shelves. 

[Gixxerjoe04]

Here’s a pic of where it’s going and the floor which is what it’ll be stained to match, looks cherry colored.  Would be easy if I could use cherry ply and cherry wood, got a lot of cherry.  

[Gixxerjoe04]

[wdwerker]

Yea , I would lobby for cherry in that room. Space under the mantle is small. Warn them not to build huge fires & monitor the temperature of the underside if the fireplace is used for a prolonged period. Most people don't use that kind of fireplace for much more than ambiance but a power outage could lead to heavy use.  I would also suggest making something like drawer fronts to cover the holes. Technology changes and the mantle would look awkward with empty holes in the future. If the covers are made now they would match. 

I have seen scorched undersides to mantles and local building code varies.  I wouldn't go lower than 12" clear below, 18" is much better.  

I just looked for recommendations online. I'm building a mantle for a client soon. I found this...

Most codes specify mantel distance from the firebox itself. As a general rule, a mantel is placed about 12 inches above the fireplace opening. Add an inch to the distance for every inch that the mantel protrudes. So, a mantel 6 inches deep would be attached 18 inches above the firebox opening.

[CharleyL]

That is the worst possible place to store DVDs. The heat will ruin them, and you will be blamed for it, even if you manage to build exactly what they want. Talk them into storing their DVDs somewhere else. Records, CDs, and DVDs are all heat sensitive and it doesn't take much to destroy them.

Charley