How To Mount a Mantel To A Wall? Part 1

“Do you have any suggestions for mounting a 3″x6″x6′ mantle to a wall? Thanks, Judy”

I have a couple of different solutions and tips depending on the type of material the wall is constructed from. Let’s talk about the different materials walls are constructed from and what fasteners work best.

Sheet Rock / Wall Board / Plastered wall

It comes in 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch thick material that is gypsum coated with paper on both sides. Fairly heavy and breaks easily. However, it has a high shearing strength. Most homes that have been built in the last thirty years the interior walls are covered with sheet rock.

• Molly bolts work very well. Drill a pilot hole and slide the molly bolt into it, until the flange reaches the sheet rock face. Turning the machine threaded screw will expand the back side and cause it to flare out and grab onto the back side of the sheet rock.

• Nylon drywall driller. They look like an oversized wood screw. Drill a pilot hole and thread them into the wall. Depending on the size most accept a #10 wood screw. I have been using them for a few years for hanging heavy objects on the wall and they work great. The nice thing about them is that you can remove them from the wall later on and cover up the hole!

Brick veneer

If you’re having the brick veneer installed, talk with the masonry contractor before they start the job. Ask them about inserting wooden anchor points into the veneer wall as they are bricking it up. It may sound a little odd to the masonry contractor but here is what my father has done on a couple of jobs years ago and it worked like a charm.

My father was hired to install the brick veneer around a fire place. The home owner wanted to hang a custom built wooden mantel on the brick veneer. The home owner showed my father how high off of the ground he wanted the mantel to be positioned.

As he was bricking the wall, when he got to the course where the middle of the mantel would be at, he mortared in a couple of 2 x 4s. What he did was take two 2 x 4s scraps that where about 10 to 12 inches long and hammered 12d galvanized nails half way into them on both of the wide sides. That is the 3 1/2 inch sides. Then instead of setting a brick he set the 2 x 4 with the 1 1/2 inch wide side facing out. This allowed for two 1 1/2 by ~12 inch wide wooden fastening points for the mantel.

Ok, so if you’re dealing with an already existing brick wall, the best results will be to use a toggle bolt. Using a carbide drill bit drill a pilot hole all the way through the mortar joint. Use the toggle bolt to hold the mantel’s mounting bracket to the brick veneer wall.

Plastic anchors drilled into the brick face will not hold a mantel very well. They are only good for light duty.

In the next post I will cover fasteners for wood paneling and concrete walls.