Free Fireplace Mantel Plans

Taunton Press has this great step by step pdf article on Building a Fireplace Mantel. They have well laid out instructions with detailed illustrations and photos. They estimate you should be able to build this classy 19th century style Fireplace Mantle in a weekend.

Skil Tools has this article from the Handyman Club of America on building a Custom Made Mantel. They have 10 construction photos, two detailed illustrations, a materials and cutting list, and written instructions for the 10 steps.

Ron Hazelton discusses building a Fireplace Mantel with a 7 minute video, and 10 step by step instructions below the video. This is a classic mantel design. There is no materials or cut list so you will have to ad lib that yourself.

This article from Handyman Club is well laid out with 17 building photos, two detailed diagrams, a Fireplace Surround cutting list and 16 step by step written instructions. Their cutting list is for building a Fireplace Surround with a 42 inch tall by 50 inch wide opening, so adjust it to your fireplace size.

Another short article from Handyman Club give you a 1 page pdf on designing an Easy Fireplace Surround. There is a photo of the finished project and a detailed illustration. There is no cutting or materials list.

In this 12 minute video from Ron Hazelton he shows you a fireplace makeover with ceramic tiles and a new mantel and surround. Below the video is 10 steps of instructions for each part of the project. There is no materials list included with this project.

Extreme How-to discusses the process of How to Build a Fireplace Mantel. First planning the design, measuring and creating layout lines on the wall, then constructing the mantel and installing it. This article has detailed photos and instructions for creating and installing a fireplace mantel but there are no plans with this article. So pick one of the other fireplace mantel and surround plans on my site and then use this article to help with finishing it.

This Mantlepiece from Gary Katz is very elegant. Gary specializes in finish carpentry. Gary has some photos, three detailed drawings and some written instructions for building this mantelpiece. He also has a 12 minute video on just creating the corbels. There is no cutting list and the written instructions are minimal so this is not a beginners mantelpiece.

This Popular Mechanics article discusses in detail; planning, building and installing a mantel. The 4 page article is well laid out with 18 steps and illustrations. There is no cutting list but the dimensions are mentioned throughout the article.

American Woodworker Magazine has this 4 page article on creating display shelves, which can give you ideas for your fireplace mantel. The article discusses three shelf examples. A shelf with stacked molding, a shelf with dentil molding and a shelf with a beaded backboard. There are good illustrations, instruction tips and instructions. There are no cutting lists.

Here is a nice Fireplace Mantel Plan from DiyIdeas.com. This two page pdf has a tools and material list, instructions, and a good exploded illustration of the mantel and surround.

Winsorone.com gives examples of 4 types of historically inspired mantels; a classic colonial, a greek revival, a colonial revival and a classic craftsman mantel. Click on one of the mantel illustrations and they have the illustrations of each with some dimensions. These are not full plans but are good for fireplace mantel ideas.

Old House Journal has a 2 page piece on Colonial Revival Style Mantel from the early 20th century. They have three illustrations and some fairly general text about this mantel.

Better Homes and Gardens has an article called Creative Ideas for Your Mantel. This article consists of 15 photos of different fireplace mantels in various house settings. There are no plans with this piece.

These mantel and surround ideas come from Google Images. Scroll through 100s of photo of mantels and it is certain to give you some ideas for the perfect Fireplace Mantel.

Amazon.com has many Fireplace Mantel Kits available. You will still need to install the mantel yourself but sometimes it is easier to buy the kit as opposed to building it from scratch.