How to Attach a Wooden Mantel to Bricks
- 1). Install a ledger board. A ledger board is a piece of hardwood or plywood ¾ of an inch thick. Cut your ledger to fit snugly inside your mantel's back. (A typical mantel shelf is built as an open-backed box, trimmed in molding and made of cabinet plywood or hardwood.) Measure to an appropriate height at least 10 inches from the top of the firebox opening. (The firebox is the actual fireplace where the logs are burned.) Measure side to side and mark the brick directly above the center of the firebox. Mark the ledger board in the center and line up the two marks.
- 2). Use a level to mark the top line of the ledger board. Drill one hole an inch inside each corner of the ledger board. Drill another hole an inch down from the top and one an inch from the bottom, both centered. Countersink each hole to accommodate the concrete screw heads.
- 3). Hold the ledger in place. Use a 3/16 inch masonry bit to drill through the holes in the ledger and ¼ inch into the brick behind the ledger. Repeat for each of the holes. These will serve as markers for your pilot holes.
- 4). Set the ledger board aside and drill into the brick with the masonry bit. Drill 1 ½ inches deep in each pilot hole. Blow the brick dust out of each hole.
- 5). Set the ledger board in place and attach using 2-inch tapcon style concrete screws. Install each screw most of the way leaving the final tightening until all screws are in place. Once all six screws are in place tighten them snugly. Do not overtighten. Use the recommended screw tip for best results.
- 6). Set the mantel onto the ledger board and check for level. Remove the mantel and run a bead of construction adhesive, such as liquid nails, around the edge of the ledger board and replace the mantel.
- 7). Attach the mantel to the ledger using a hammer and finish nails or a compressor and pin nails. If possible nail from all four sides, top, bottom, and both sides to fully secure the shelf. Fill the nail holes with the appropriate color of wood filler.
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