How to Remove a Fireplace Mantel
A shelf above the fireplace is a mantel. A Mantel shelf usually has a decorative purpose. However, some fireplaces have a full mantel, like a frame. The full fireplace mantel surrounds the fireplace sideways. It also has a shelf installed on the top.
A fireplace mantel can add a decorative and functional touch to most fireplaces. It can either get made of wood or stone.
The fireplace mantel comes in two major parts: the lower mantel and the optional overmantel. The main parts of a lower mantel include the shelf, legs, header, inner trim, and hearth. The main features of the overmantel are crown and wall cladding tiles.
The shelf depth can be sized to your desire depending on the size of your room. All parts of the fireplace mantel are sized proportionally to accommodate your firebox size.
Mantels can be attached to a piece of wood placed on the wall. If that’s the case, screws and nails are visible. Either on the top or at the bottom side of the mantel.
Besides practical reasons, some homeowners get rid of the mantel as it no longer fits the style of the fireplace or the room in which it gets located. It can change the entire ambiance of the room.
Standalone floating fireplace mantels can be attached to a wall using lag screws or installed onto a backboard. In contrast, mantels as part of a complete fireplace surround may be screwed into the wall using brackets.
How Floating Mantel Shelves Are Attached
Standalone fireplace mantels (where they aren’t attached to a fireplace surround) are typically attached to a wall so that you can’t easily see how it’s connected.
This helps to make a floating mantel look more built-in and sophisticated. To achieve this floating mantel look, standalone mantels are typically attached to a wall using:
Screws and bolts on which the mantel can slide onto.
A backboard.
Nails.
Brackets such as French cleats.
Supported by corbels.
How a mantel is installed onto a wall will differ between models.
Some mantels can be resting on solid lag screws that can take the weight of the mantel. These screws or bolts get drilled into the wall with the ends sticking out, and a mantel can slide onto the bolts using pre-drilled holes.
Other mantels can be screwed or nailed onto a board, which is attached to the wall or simply attached to a wall with brackets or nails.
How Fireplace Mantels With Surrounds Are Attached
For fireplace mantels included as part of a fireplace surround, the surround is commonly attached to a wall using brackets with screws, particularly for wooden surrounds.
The brackets will typically be located at several positions around the outer perimeter of the mantel with surround but may also be on the inner side. The brackets were sunk into the wall and plastered over to not get seen.
Unlike floating mantels, surrounds with mantels are commonly sat with their load on the hearth and don’t typically require the same sort of load-bearing joints. Wooden surrounds will be screwed into the wall to help prevent it from falling over, rather than being used to hold it up.
The following are the steps to take when removing a fireplace mantel.
- Clear all items off the mantel.
- Get set-up
Lay some old newspapers or a piece of cloth on the floor to make cleaning the filth easier afterward. Also, make sure to protect the furniture with some kind of covering.
Remove everything from the fireplace mantel before you start. You will need to use a hammer and a chisel to separate the mantel from the wall. Before that, check if there are any nails or screws on the mantel. If there are, use a screwdriver to remove them first.
- Locate the faces
Look sideways for the seam where the outer faces of the legs connect with the horizontal self. You will find either large wood screws or lag bolts. These keep the framework of the mantel safely attached to the wall both up and down and sideways. Use the large screwdriver to remove the wooden screws. If there are lag bolts, use a socket and ratchet to remove them.
- Remove the braces
Some mantels have corbel braces, so these will also need to be removed. These are a kind of decorative supports, large-sized and made of stone, brick, or wood.
To remove it, chisel the masonry surrounding the stone or brick corbels. Next, place the pry bar tip behind the corbels and tap it. Do this gently until it loosens enough so you can pull it out and remove it.
- Remove the screws
To remove the screws, you’ll need a drill driver. If bolts are holding the corbel, remove them with the help of a socket and a ratchet.
Sometimes, screws hide under the wooden furniture buttons. You can remove these and reveal the screws. If there is wood filler as a cover, you will have to chip the stuffing out.
Again, use the hammer or a rubber mallet to loosen the corbels. Push and pull in different directions until you can remove it with ease.
- Remove the connecting’s
Position a pry bar at the back of the fireplace mantel to pry it off. If it won’t come off, there is a ledger. It might be under or behind it. Its purpose is to connect the board with the wall using screws or bolts. In that case, you will have to remove them with a drill driver. After you do, try again to pry the mantel off with the pry bar, which should come off this time.
- Knockdown mantel
Place the tip of the chisel at the back of the moldings. To reveal screw heads, you will first need to pry them off. Sometimes screw heads are still not visible, so you have to chisel off the outer panels too.
You can also trim the vertical legs to look for the screw heads. Chip off the plaster excessive around those legs using the chisel and the hammer. You can remove screws with the drill driver, screwdriver, and bolts with the socket and ratchet.
- Loose down the mantel
Find any gap or a crack in the back of the mantel and place the tip of the pry bar in it. Then, move the pry bar sideways and repeat this until it loosens.
Slowly lift the mantel and separate it away from the wall. You may want help with this to avoid the mantel falling forward. When you feel the mantel is loose enough, gently tilt it down and remove it from the wall.
Sand down any ridges left on the wall with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe it clean with a damp cloth. Apply a thin layer of joint compound to any holes with a putty knife. Let it dry and sand it smooth with 150-grit sandpaper so it is even with the rest of the drywall. Apply a fresh coat of paint to the area to provide the most professional-looking results, whether you intend to reuse the existing mantel or replace the mantel with something roughly the same size.
How To Remove A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace.
Wall-mounted electric fireplaces will be installed on a home’s wall and plugged into a nearby electrical outlet.
- Check The Manual
The owner’s manual for a wall-mounted electric fireplace will outline the steps needed to install the fireplace on the wall.
Manuals won’t typically outline how to remove the fireplace (ours doesn’t), but you can simply follow the steps in reverse order.
If you don’t have a paper copy of the manual, you can see if there’s any mention of the product code on the fireplace and search for an online document.
- Check The Fireplace For Mounting Locations
A wall-mounted electric fireplace will be attached to the wall at one or mounting locations.
The manual may outline where these mounting locations will be and what they are, as the fireplace could either be:
Mounted directly onto the wall using screws
Mounted onto a bracket(s) which in turn gets mounted onto the wall
- Remove Any Covers Or Trim
To access the mounting locations for the fireplace, you may need to remove any trim or covers.
- Remove Any Loose Objects
Some models of wall-mounted electric fire will have had certain parts added onto the unit after being installed that helped make the installation process more manageable.
These components should be removed from the fireplace before removing the fireplace itself from the wall.
Such parts could be any media placed at the base of the fire. For example, we’ll need to remove the plastic crystals at the bottom of our appliance before removing the fireplace. Otherwise, they’ll go everywhere.
- Unscrew The Fireplace And Remove
Wall-mounted electric fireplaces are commonly installed straight onto a wall using screws, so all that is to do is unscrew the screws for the fireplace to come away from the wall.
You can typically remove a wall-mounted electric fireplace just using a screwdriver
These electric fireplaces can be heavy appliances, so it’s best to have one or two other people holding the fireplace while you remove the screws.
With the screws removed, a wall mount fireplace will typically come away from the wall.