How To Install Shiplap Over Mantel In 10 Steps
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I’ve had a ton of you asking for a tutorial on our DIY shiplap over mantel fireplace, and I’m happy to say the wait is finally over! We were able to give our builder-grade fireplace a budget-friendly makeover that completely transformed the space.
Today I will be walking you through our entire DIY shiplap over mantel installation process, and although this tutorial is based off custom specs of our home it can be easily tweaked to fit your own space and style.
We also built & installed our own wood beam mantel, so stay tuned as the full tutorial for our DIY wood beam mantel will be coming soon!
If you’d like to be notified as soon as my wood beam mantel tutorial is live click here!
Let me level with you guys real quick. Going into this project I had NO CLUE about the different part names of a fireplace…oops. So before we dive into this little DIY adventure I wanted to provide an “anatomy” diagram that labels each part of the fireplace for your reference:
In this paragraph, I am going to list out all the required materials and tools you need in order to build your own DIY shiplap over mantel easily and affordably!
The first step of building your own DIY shiplap over mantel is to measure out the space and plan out your design. If you are building a DIY shiplap over mantel from scratch I would first suggest finding your walls center before beginning install. In our case, we didn’t have to worry about finding the center of the wall since our old fireplace was already installed and centered.
Next, you will want to purchase your shiplap boards. We opted for these boards that are 5 ¼ – inches wide as they are already primed and have a nickel gap lip built into each board. Both of these things are huge time savers! You can adjust the desired width according to your wall size and preference if you’re looking for a wider board.
At this point, it’s time to build the frame for your shiplap over mantel. Building a frame is optional as you could simply install the shiplap directly onto your wall without a frame, however this is a great option if:
You can use 2×4’s to build the frame and then attach your shiplap boards once the frame is complete.
Now the real fun begins as you get to start installing your shiplap! We chose to start installing the shiplap boards from the top of the frame and work our way down. Starting installation at the top helped ensure that any gaps or irregular sizes that may happen at the end would be covered up once the faux wooden mantel was installed.
If you start from the bottom and work your way up you could run into an issue of having a top board that’s too small or too big and have no way of covering it up.
Now it’s time to clean up, decorate, and show off that finished project!
I hope this tutorial inspires you to take on your own DIY shiplap over mantel fireplace project and provides you with the necessary tools for updating your builder-grade fireplace. If you used this tutorial, please feel free to tag @pamelacarlisledesign in your reveal as I’d love to personally see your transformation!
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Hello from Macon! May I ask what the color is of the walls in your living room (in this picture) I’m painting this weekend and really love the color!! Thank you!
Thanks for the quick reply and info! And a tutorial? Sounds amazing! Thank you!!!!
My pleasure! Thanks for the kind words <3
Wow, you are talented. I’m loving this look. I have a similar mantle & I am obsessed with that 3 ball hanging topiary you have in the center of the finished picture – any idea where I can purchase that?
Thank you so much!
Thanks girl I’m so glad you like the look! I got the wooden centerpiece about 2 years ago from AtHome (Shanty2Chic is the brand) but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere so I’m not sure if they still make it? The GOOD news is that it’s super easy & cheap to build (wish I had figured that out before buying it from a store LOL). I’ll be sharing a step-by-step tutorial on how you can build your own in a few weeks so be sure to check back on my blog!!
Heeeyy!! Just following up and expressing my Interest in that step by step tutorial for the hanging topiary centerpiece 🥰
Awesome! Hoping to have it up shortly after Thanksgiving!💕