I need to remove a wooden mantle piece - any tips on how to do this without causing damage please?

Question

It is a large mantle piece (1930's original) almost 6ft high and 5ft wide. It is not connected to any gas or electric fire. We will strip the wood and restore after household renovations.

Answer 1

I assume it is painted since your going to strip it, correct, likely it was a natural finish that got painted over the years. I would bet and each one is different, it is nailed to the framing around the fireplace, if you can see where it was nailed in place you could pull the nails out, you will likely do some damage there but it would be really difficult to not get some there.

Sometimes the horizontal "mantle" was made up of a couple of boards and is hollow and a solid cleat was fastened to the wall and then the mantle was fastened through the top to that cleat.

If I had pictures I could give you a better idea. I would be happy to help if you like.

Answer 2

It is held to the wall by brackets on each side. These brackets were fitted before the wall was plastered, so you have to chip around the sides and remove the plaster to reveal the brackets. Then you have to gently pull it from the wall using something as a lexer.

Answer 3

You shouldn't take it off....I just asked my husband who restores and renovates houses for a living. He said you should do the job in situe....there is no ned to take it off as you will not be making the job any easier.

Answer 4

Need more information but my guess is that it is merely nailed to the framing with some big finish nails. Try to find them by looking for putty holes- sometimes you need to pull various smaller pieces of trim first as the biguns are beneath that. Get some paint striper and start looking for little things to pull off. Sometimes-if done gradually- you can carefully jab a wonder bar behind it in various places and carefully work it loose enough to get a sawsall blade behind it. Take care to protect the substrate or wall with a wooden shingle while you pry.

Answer 5

Restore in-situ: you weren't planning on doing anything terrible like having it dipped were you?

If you really do need to remove it - it will be fixed to the brickwork beneath the plaster - try running a metal detector round the edge. I would leave it in place as you will have to wreck the plasterwork to get it out.  

Answer 6

Those type were usually fixed around the perimeter, embedded in the plaster are or should be brass plates fixed back to the wall, the only

way is to carefully chip the plaster away to find them, if in any doubt

restore it in situation.

Answer 7

be careful