Completed Fireplace Surround

The fireplace surround is finished and installed.  What do you think?

Fireplace surround construction

I finally got around to buying a TV for the basement.  The blue tape about the mantle was used to get a feel for the TV size.    Since it’s going to be installed over the fireplace, I felt motivated (finally) to finish the fireplace surround.  Lots of sanding, stain, then poly.

Fireplace surround before finishing

Fireplace viewed from the right

Construction detail of base of leg on fireplace surround

Construction detail of leg of fireplace surround

I wanted to show a bit of the underlying construction before it gets permanently attached.  It’s built from red oak.  The legs on either side are three pieces of oak joined with pocket screws and glue.    At the top I added a band of flat trim with cove underneath it.  The base is made from three mitered pieces topped with cove.

I routed the cove trim from the same material so it would all match.  I used brads to attach the trim, but if I was to do it over, I’d do it all with glue.  The oak is really hard and I had some splits in the trim from using the nail gun.

The legs will be attached to the pine blocks screwed to the wall.    The hardware will be hidden at the bottom by the base and at the top I’ll attach it from the side facing the mantel.

More on constructing the corbels and mantel later.

Fireplace surround update

Construction of the fireplace surround is underway.  Here’s a recent picture.

Mantel under construction

The surround I based this design on was constructed from quarter sawn oak.   After a visit to a local lumber supply, I decided on red oak.  There was plenty of stock to choose from and I really liked the grain of the wood.  I built the legs of the surround with pocket screws and glue.  The mantel is joined in the same manner except that the bottom is fixed with glue and brads since there isn’t enough room to join both the top and bottom with pocket screws.

Three corbels (brackets) will be mounted under the mantel shelf.  There are also a few pieces of trim to apply yet.  Joining each piece to the wall creates its own set of challenges.  I want to minimize any visible hardware and I want to be able to build it in place, remove it for finishing, and then reinstall it.     I’ll try to post more detailed pictures of the underlying construction when I do the final install.

There’s a picture of the fireplace without the surround in this post.