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How to update your
fireplace
 A
wealth of information at your fingertips on fireplace mantels, including
restoring fireplace mantels and safety.
Lament not if your fireplace has the charm and
appeal of a day-old tuna sandwich. Today's options for remodeling
ugly, outdated fireplace mantels and surrounds should light your
creative fire.
Choose from many materials: stone, tile, chrome, copper, stainless
steel, wood, manufactured stone, precast concrete, paint, even
polyurethane. Mix materials or feature just one. Hire a designer to
originate a work of art or a contractor to assemble the pieces, or
go the do-it-yourself route.
Fireplace makeovers are a matter of taste and budget
Home-improvement stores sell wood mantels for less than $200 and
complete kits (mantel and surround) for $300 to $400. You choose
each piece -- mantel, pilasters (columns), basic surrounds and other
decorative elements. The price is right, although design choices
might be limited.
Or choose from custom-built mantels and full surrounds that sell
from $500 to several thousand dollars depending on size, detail and
materials.
"Usually it starts with a client wanting to update the space," said
interior designer Dee Thelen of Dee Thelen Interiors of Folsom,
Calif. "Since the fireplace is usually a major focal point, I look
at what I can do to update it."
Ideally, fireplace design and room design change together. Thelen
recently replaced a traditional painted, white brick fireplace in
Sacramento, Calif., with a contemporary design using copper,
stainless steel and wood. She chose slate for the hearth.
"We were doing a more contemporary setting, and they wanted
something a little more formal," she said. "They had a lot of art
around. The fireplace is another piece of art."
Thelen had another white brick fireplace faux-painted to look like
its original brick to accommodate the client's desire for a more
traditional look. Brigette Logsdon of the Sacramento company VP
Originals, which specializes in faux finishes, did the work. Kitchen
cabinetry comprises about 80 percent of her workload, but fireplaces
also keep her busy.
"I've done so many fireplaces," she said. "The sky's the limit;
there are no limitations on color or texture."
Her husband and business partner, David Logsdon, said faux finishes
are cheaper than replacing fireplace material. Typical jobs run from
$800 to $1,200.
"Instead of designing the room around the fireplace, the fireplace
can be designed to complement the room," he said.
Brigette Logsdon also applies faux stone and faux wood-grain
finishes. No demolition is required for faux finishes.
Major demolition was required for Joe and Jennifer Tillman of
Sacramento when they added a new fireplace during an extensive
remodel that included a new second story.
"Our chimney would have gone right through the new master bedroom,"
Jennifer Tillman said.
The answer was to install a direct-vent gas fireplace. It vents
through the wall at the back of the firebox, eliminating the need
for a chimney. For the trim, the Tillmans had a full-surround
fireplace mantel custom-made by Valley Stair & Moulding in
Roseville, Calif.
"We found a mantel we really liked in a magazine, and they pretty
much duplicated it," Jennifer Tillman said.
The Tillmans tied the new fireplace mantel and surround atop their
BMW and hauled it home. They installed it themselves and painted it
a rust color.
"It was very easy," Jennifer Tillman said.
Valley Stair & Moulding makes mantelpieces and full-surround
fireplace mantels. Their standard mantels range from $150 to $225;
mantels with full surrounds go from $500 to $700. More ornate or
larger mantels and full surrounds are priced higher. The Tillmans'
custom mantel and surround cost about $1,000.
Lucy Bastien, owner of Valley Stair & Moulding, said the mantels are
designed and constructed for simple do-it-yourself installation.
Customers submit measurements and choose a design, and the company
constructs the mantel.
"We make them out of oak, pine, alder or maple, or you can buy
polyurethane pieces," she said. Paint-grade wood is less expensive,
while oak is perfect for staining. The company doesn't paint, stain
or install its surrounds.
Some new homes have nontraditional mantels -- made from drywall or
precast concrete -- that prompt homeowners to seek a more homey
look.
"New homes have precast concrete mantels because they're
inexpensive," said Greg Pickard, a sales representative for Valley
Stair & Moulding. "Even though it's a new home, we've had people who
want to tear them off and go with something more traditional."
Seann Rooney of Walnut Grove, Calif., wanted to replace a painted
white brick fireplace with a more traditional stone look in a
bedroom he was converting to a library. He chose ROX Panels, which
are among the newest products for fireplace remodeling. Real stone
is hand-cut to thicknesses ranging from 1/2 inch to 3 inches. The
thin pieces are epoxied to a backing and installed in
6-inch-by-24-inch sections.
Rooney combined Sierra blue limestone panels with a bluestone
hearth.
"I hated the white brick," Rooney said.
Rooney, a public-relations consultant, said he paid about $1,000 for
the material and did the work himself. Having worked as a tile
setter to get through college, he had the how-to experience.
Jess Zamora, general manager for ROX Pro (which makes ROX Panels),
said the rock panels are easy to install even without a tile
setter's experience.
Helpful articles and common questions regarding
fireplace mantels:
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