Posts in This Series
1. How to Build OVRMANTEL-100 for About $87.39 Part 1
2. How to Build OVERMANTEL-100 Part 2: Entablature
3. Before & After: Great Room Fireplace Overmantel
4. How to Build FIREPLACE MANTEL-103 Series
Building this hooded entablature is little different from building a door or window entablature, or overdoor. And don’t forget that you don’t have to use the exact same millwork I used here, you can come up with your own, personal design based on this one.
Now let’s build the entablature, it’s easy!
Make the Frieze
1/2″ thick mdf is the perfect material to make the entablature core from. I cut the notches for the ears with a handheld jigsaw.
How to Plan Pattern Repeat in Ornate Moldings
When working with ornate moldings like this dentil crown molding, you can only control how the pattern matches on one side of the miter, the rest are left to chance.
Choose your control corner by:
- The side guests see first so you create a good first impression or
- The side that will be seen most often
Guests entering this great room will see the right side of the overmantel first, and so that was the corner we chose for the control point.
This dentil foam crown molding is made by a company called Focal Point.
Build the entablature on a flat surface rather than climbing up and down the ladder for every cut.
Building the Entablature Hood
Cut a soffit from 1/2″ thick mdf board.
Note how this crown molding profile has it’s own soffit and fascia.
Now cut a fascia and put a dado joint on the inside.
The soffit and fascia fit together like this to create the hood’s core. Glue and nail them together. Make sure they are square to each other.
Wrap the small crown molding (CM-005) around the entablature fascia.
It’s easier to fill and sand nail holes, prime and sand again before you install the entablature above the fireplace. I didn’t this time but should have.
Like all of your other moldings, the entablature gets glued to the wall with Liquid Nails. Only a few brad nails are needed to tack it in place until the glue dries.
Now stand back and look at your creation!
After adding the last two pieces of architrave moldings, I primed, sanded and then caulked the entire overmantel.
Prime and Paint
[For details on how to prepare and paint moldings see our How to Paint Moldings page.]
We weren’t sure if we wanted the overmantel to be white like the crown and other moldings, or if it should be the sand color of the mantel.
To help us choose, I primed one half in white primer and the other half in a tinted primer.
The sand color made the final cut, and here it is with two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Satin Impervo paint.
All the overmantel needs now are some round or square rosettes for the architrave ears.
With this post out of the way, I can soon turn my attention to writing up the step by step posts showing you how I made this fireplace mantel.
In the mean time you can see how I built something similar here: How to Build FIREPLACE MANTEL-102 Part 1.
If you have any questions about how to build the overmantel, then please use the comment section below. I respond to all comments on our blog.
Good luck building your own overmantel!
Posts in This Series
1. How to Build OVRMANTEL-100 for About $87.39 Part 1
2. How to Build OVERMANTEL-100 Part 2: Entablature
