Building a mantelpiece—a simple one or an elaborate one—is a lot like building a house. A carpenter must visualize each layer from the foundation to the roof, or from the hearth to the attic entablature. One mistake in the shop or during installation can cost hours of additional labor and hundreds of dollars in lost material. The double mantel featured here demonstrates planning and construction techniques common to nearly every project I tackle, but it also illustrates what can go wrong. Here, we made false assumptions about the framing modifications necessary to install the big television and paid for it later.
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