Custom Copper Sheet Metal Clad Fireplace Mantle Work Page Updated 11 / 2023 |
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Advantages of a Copper
Clad Mantle: These are also used for indoor application for a nice clean look that can resist scratches and the radiating heat better than any painted or lacquered wood surface. Also, soot can be scrubbed off with out worry of harming a delicate surface. Copper is also much more anti-microbial than any other surface, so other than dusting it off there is no cleaning required. If you do not care for the patina look it may develop over time, it can be polished again and again without damaging the copper surface. A variety of chemicals can be applied to achieve a number of different looks in the patina. And start all over if you decide that you want a different look, or just bring it back to that new copper penny look again. It then can be waxed or given a thin lacquer coating to retain that look, but you would loose the anti-fungal advantage. It could even be painted, and later stripped off without harming the copper. I made a special purchase of a large quantity of beech hardwood to use as a good sturdy substructure for these custom mantles. These boards are over 1" thick and range from 5" to 13.5" wide by 8' long.
Excess Heat to a Mantle: Also,
I know many people have nick-nacks place over their mantle that
cannot withstand nearly that much heat without damage. It is also
common to see a large portait photo, painting, or flat-screen TV mounted
over a mantle, which would be highly vulnerable to such high heat. It could be
possible that for some reason you have an unusually high heat coming
out from within your fireplace. If so, that is a serious issue that
needs to be corrected before using the fireplace again.
Examples, Styles, &
Price: When contacting me for a quote please be as specific as possible to let me know just what size and style you want, so I can calculate the cost for your unique project. There is no discount for just copying a previous project.
Size & Design: This will also need a firm attachment, which is sturdy enough for an adult to sit on the mantle, so there is no risk of this becoming dislodged. I will help with the design of this mounting system that is also not too complicated. For a more rustic look some clients have us add a patina and or texture the copper with a hammered look. as well as adding a string of copper domes to resemble large industrial rivets, as seen in steel bridge construction. The main benefit of a hammered copper surface is so that future dents and scratches are not nearly as noticeable. This is done before adhearing the copper to the wood substructure for a more rustic look at an added cost of $20 per square foot for each treatment: patina or hammered. The domes can be made different sizes and tend to run $3 each installed. For sizing you would do well to form a temporary mantle to test fit in place to get a better feel for the size that would best suit your needs. This can be done with scrap wood or just cardboard box scraps cut and taped together to fit different sizes for sampling. Once we have built this in copper it is pretty much set, so anything you can do on your end to figure out the best size is a very important first step to your long term saticefaction. I would hate for you to get it mounted and not be happy with that size you had requested.
Sturdy Mounting:
Cost:
As to Adding a
Polish or
Patina
Look:
The copper we have access to
is not polished, and will have tiny scratches in it, and perhaps a
few small dents, as with anything hand-made, which cannot be made
machine perfect. It is a lot of work to polish this copper to a
mirror finish, which has not been one of our specialties, so I
cannot guarantee the finish will meet your satisfaction. That said; you
will need to be a bit flexible with us on this detail. Copper can be
polished at any point of it's lifespan, so imperfections is
something you will not be stuck with. As long as you are willing
to have it worked over until it meets your satisfaction. That's just not a
service we provide. Especially for out of State clients, which is
the majority of our sales. If you want this desired look not to change it would then need to be covered up with a clear lacquer over it to retain that specific look. Although, the down side of this is how that soft plastic coating will get scratched up a lot easier than the harder copper surface. Also, it will eventually crack and peal over time or heat exposure from the fireplace in use. Making it look terrible. It also looses the advantage of the natural ability of raw copper to kill germs on contact. After discussing the pros and cons of this our Clients often decided to forgo that costly option, as it may take numerous tries to get the desired look. Which I would need to charge for all that time required for each attemped patina, and repolishing to start over if you are not satisfied with that look you see in the photos I share with you.
If you are not local to us we will
share progress photos of your project as we go, but as you know that
may not
properly represent how this may look in person. If we get the tone
you like it can be waxed to retain that look, but that would need to
be reapplied frequently. Finger prints will make
the copper turn darker in a spotty manner, but that can also be a
rustic charming look some Clients like. If at any point you
decide you don't like that look it can be stripped and polished
again to start over and find the look you like best, but this can be
a long drawn out process requiring your personal attention and
on-site inspection. As you'll see most of my client are not local to us, so I do ship orders all across the Nation as well. Don't be shy and write me an e-mail to ask if we can help with your project. |
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Client: Carter - 58" wide Fireplace Mantle 1/23 |
This mantle was built for Josh Carter in Colorado Springs Colorado for the house they were building. This mantle has a 1.25" thick beech hardwood base frame inside, covered with 32oz copper with a hammered texture, which is 4 times stronger than the standard 16oz copper used by other shops. Some would even use 12oz copper, such as with the table tops at the many McMinimins Pubs around the Northwest. He also ordered a set of 11 copper log skirts in the same 32oz copper, to hide the adjustment bolts underneath. $4,396 total cost for this 12-piece project delivered.
To see all 63 photos of this project go to: |
Client: Tully - 45" wide Fireplace Mantle 3/22 |
This client in Salida Del Sol, California: Brendan Tully wanted this mantle to be mounted onto their brick fireplace that was painted white. He wanted the center to come out 9" and be just 4.5" tall. The cost for this hardwood mantle covered with 32oz copper with X-Mas stocking hooks, mounting bracket, a crate, padding, and ground freight was $1.5k delivered.
To see all 52 photos of this project go to: |
Client: Neideffer - 4' tall by 5' wide Fireplace Facade with Hearth Cover 5/21 |
This client in Dublin California. Marty & Dawn wanted this brick fireplace that was painted white to be covered with hammered copper before the mantle goes on and the side cabinets are installed. The cost was about $3k with freight.
$3k for this 5 piece cover delivered to Dublin, CA
To see all 22 photos of this 5 piece project go to: |
Client: Pollaert/Smith - 7' 5.25" wide Mantle with side columns 5-8/18 |
This client: Elisabeth and I had had fun exploring different options to cover up this crown molding surrounding her fireplace, that she did not care for. Their cost was $2,441.50 with a crate and freight to Berkeley, CA. As for the size of this mantle: The height is 5 5/8", and the depth is 8.75" including the pipe rim on top, or just 7.5" deep below. The outside of the pipe rim is 89.25", where the lower section is just 86.5" wide across the back, or just 71.5" wide across the front face. This mantle weighs 72# - 22.4# wood weight = 49.6# of copper, or 24.8 sq' of this 32oz copper used. Here is a photo this client has shared with us
after the installation, and here is what she had to say:
$2,441.50 for this 3 piece delivered to
Berkeley, CA
To see all 29 photos of this 3 piece project go to: |
Client:
Collins in Dallas Texas |
This project was for a pair of mantles 66.5" and 68" wide clad in 32oz copper with a pair of 24oz copper cinder trays and spark arrest screen custom designed and built for Tomas Collins in Dallas Texas to be mounted over their fireplace to help shield the heat from their flat screen TV just above it. I shared dozens of photos with this Client as we worked on this project to help communicate how this was progressing and get their feedback along the way. We still have the spark arrest screens to finish.
$6,549.64 for this 6 piece order delivered to
Dallas, Texas
To see all 97 photos of this 6 piece project go to: |
Client: Moriguchi - 5.5' Wide Mantle 3/17 |
This is a 60" wide mantle clad in 32oz copper custom designed and built for Brian & Jodi Moriguchi in Stevenson Ranch, California to be mounted over their natural gas fireplace insert to help shield the heat from their painting just above it. I shared 20 other photos with this Client as we worked on this project to help communicate how this was progressing and get their feedback along the way. I had not done much pre-tarnishing of the copper for clients, so this was a bit of an experiment to see what we could achieve in a short time-frame for an interesting organic look.
$1,467.34 delivered to Stevenson Ranch, CA
To see all 23 photos of this fabrication go to: |
Client: Rosen - 6' Wide Mantle 11/16 |
This custom indoor 32oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece I made for Ann Rosen in New York State. The crown behind it was for a chimney cap project going to IL. They just wanted a clean smooth look, so they went without the hammering and rivets that have been so popular. The copper has been glued to the wood with an expanding polyurethane glue.
$1,656 delivered to Hartsdale, New York
To see all 20 photos of this fabrication go to: |
Client: Varni - 5.5' Wide Mantle 3/16 |
This custom indoor 32oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece I made for Damian Varni in Napa, California. Beside the classy look this is to help minimize the radiating heat from the natural gas fireplace insert below their flat screen TV mounted above.
$1,380 delivered to Napa, CA
To see all 23 photos of this fabrication go to:
From:
damv@aol.c*m |
Client: Chris - 66" wide Surround 3/15 |
This custom 20oz copper cad fireplace surround, made in about 30 pieces for Chris here in PDX. This was made to slide over some 1X6 boards with the edges trimmed at an angle on my table saw. This is photos the client sent me of these pieces installed to share with you. |
Client: Nagel - 62" wide Mantle w/Crown Molding 5/14 |
This custom 32oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece was made for a Jed Nagel in Torchlake, Michigan for over their fireplace with larger river rock around it. This was made with a poplar hardwood board inside for support and dent resistance. I also supplied them with a thick copper wall brace and the SS lag screws for a sturdy hidden mount slid sideways.
The finished size
was 5.5" tall, 10" deep, and 62" wide This was made with a 2" thick top shelf board with more over hang out past the crown molding than usual. These are photos the client sent us of this installed to share with you. |
Client: Rossi - 3' Wide Mantle 3/13 |
$800 delivered to Verdes Estates, CA This custom outdoor 32oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece I made for Albert Rossi in Palos Verdes Estates, California. He loved the chimney cap and mantle set I made for a client named Chris & Christine Sarkinen in St. Michael, Minnesota shown below, so he also had CBD make them a chimney cap and fireplace screen.
To see all 10 photos of this fabrication go to: |
Client: Garvin - 6' wide Mantle w/Crown Molding 12/12 |
This custom 24oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece I made for Steve Garvin in Hooks, Texas for over their flush mount gas fireplace with a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall above it. He just felt it was missing something. This was made with a poplar hardwood board for support and dent resistance and I filled the crown molding with a concrete mix. I also made a wall bracket made of a thick 32oz copper to mount on the wall into the studs with SS screws I supplied for an easy sturdy hidden mounting.
The size was 72"
wide, 8" deep, and 4.25" tall This can be made with a thicker top shelf board with more over hang out past the crown molding. Even angle cut outwards for a more dramatic look.
From:
From: Steve Garvin <steve.garvin@outlook.c*m> |
Client: Zinsmann - 5.75' wide Mantle Cover 8/10 |
This custom copper fireplace mantle shroud cover I made for a contractor in California for his client. The first image on the left shows the wood structure I made for the copper to be attached to for better dent resistance. The angled copper cover was made in 1 single seamless piece. The straps are merely decorative.
$969.60 delivered to Mission Viejo, California |
Client: Sarkinen - 3.5' Wide Mantle 7/10 |
This custom outdoor 32oz copper covered fireplace mantle piece I made for a client in Saint Michael, Minnesota for their back yard fireplace he was building. This image shows how they paid me to beat the flat copper sheets up with a hammer to give it this rustic distressed look they were after. This was made with a pair of 2x8 boards cut with this convex curve and covered with 32oz copper with large industrial looking rivets. 2" of the back was covered with stone work, so only 6" in the center showed.
$653.31 delivered to Saint Michael,
Minnesota Our client Chris Sarkinen sent us these photos over a year later (10/11) to show the rustic look of the tarnished copper this has now. He is quite pleased with the results. They also had us make a copper chimney cap for this flue, along with other custom copper pieces. |
Client: Yaden - 5' Wide Fake Smoke Exhaust Cover 6/09 |
This custom copper fireplace mantle shroud cover I made for a contractor in California for his clients who saw one like this at a Disney Land resort and wanted one like it for their home. The first image on the left is his computer rendition. You can see their photo of the actual mantle shroud they wanted me to recreate: http://copper-by-design.com/cw/Yaden.htm $1,209.75 delivered to Danville, Californiaor $61.40 per sq' Size 8" deep X 61" wide bottom, 46.5" tall, and 2" deep X 30" wide at the top |
Helpful Roofing Information For some valuable advice with regards to roofing and rain management issues check out our:
(a)
Gutter Installation web pages for answers and solutions that could save you thousands of $ and a great deal of anguish. If you do find this information very helpful, feel free to send us a $ tip for the assistance we so freely have published on the web here for your benefit, like you might tip a waitress. Heck, send us a gift certificate for a candle lit dinner for two. |
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We were also a 1997 finalist for this same award. See our referral web page to see how we managed to be honored with this special award |
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