Mantle Complete

And finally, the mantle is complete.

I started with this design over a year ago:

And here is the near complete mantle.

Mantle Progress: Actual Results

The hearth is finally done. For almost a year my to-do list has included, 'select granite'. The wooden hearth panels have been in place with no cap. As the rest of the fireplace nears completion, I finally completed the task.

Fireplace Mantle in a Weekend

It was actually two weekends, and it still needs paint.
For those of you that read the blog, this is not my mantle. I designed and built this mantle, and as a result designed and built myself a mantle.

I do have a tendency to improve the portions of my home that I improve for others.

This mantle fell victim to my nine month wood working hiatus as a result of my injuries sustained from working on my mantle. After two weekends of work, it's ready for paint.

The design is modern, something you would see on a home improvement show.

Mantle Progress: The Vision has Manifested

A lot of progress has happened in a week. It actually looks like a mantle now.  I'll let the picture speak for itself.

I still need to build a box between the horizontal paneled box and mantle, as well as add crown molding to that.

After that I will finish and paint all pieces.  Then I schedule an appointment with the stone/granite supplier and pick out a hearth.  Once that's in place I can mount the mantle.

This is the current progress.

My Fireplace Mantle

I have resumed work on my fireplace mantle.  I had a nine month hiatus after an ER trip which was a result of working on it before.  This time there were no emergencies!

This is the end goal.