How to Make a DIY Fireplace Mantel

by: Naomi Middleton

One of the things that I loved about the first house that we moved into was that it had a real wood-burning fireplace! Not only do I love sitting by a cozy fire on cold winter nights but I also love decorating the mantel every season. With that being said, our fireplace was missing a mantel. Every time I saw fireplace mantel decorations, I would think about how I really wanted to build a mantel. Finally, after a year of looking at our “mantel-less” fireplace, we decided it was time to work on building one. It took us a while to figure out what kind of mantel would work well for our unique space. The brick around our fireplace is an odd shape and I didn’t want the mantel to look out of place. We also didn’t want to spend a fortune on a fireplace mantle. After some research, we decided to try and build a railway tie mantel. Not only is this type of mantel super easy to build but we were able to make it in just a few hours and for about $50.

Supplies:

• 4” Railway Tie (We purchased an 8” one and cut it down at Menards)

• 2 - Large Brackets

• 2 - Concrete Screws (with anchors) - use at least 50lb

• 2 - Large Wood Screws

• Stain (color of your choice)

• Wax or Varnish (to seal the stain)

• Electric Drill

Directions:

This was probably one of the easiest and most satisfying DIY projects. We purchased an 8” railway tie from Menards. It was too long for our car so they actually let us cut it down to 4” in their lumberyard (most Menards have saws that customers can use in their lumberyards). When we got home, I stained it a medium brown and sealed it with sealing wax. We had to drill holes into our brick to place the concrete anchors. Once the anchors were placed we attached the bracket and hung the mantle. The whole project probably took us three hours. And I have LOVED having a mantel to decorate every season!