In our YouTube channel, you can now find a new instructional video: “how to install a marble mantle”. Whether you are dealing with an antique or a reproduction mantle, we will walk you through the steps of a proper installation. In this video, we are installing our white statuary marble reproduction Louis XV Pompadour mantel for a client a couple of hours out form Atlanta.

The process consists of six steps: dry installation, where the entire mantel will be assembled in place, without any fastening in order to mark the hearth, wall, and joints for drilling -which will be the next step. We use two different drill-bit sizes to achieve the final width, and a diamond-blade saw for the channels. Next, the official installation will begin using a plaster mix and copper wire for fastening. During these first steps is very important to constantly check proper alignment and plum. We will then measure, cut and install the slips before we install the shelf and clean up all the excess plaster.

Watch the video below for detail commentary by Architectural Accents’ founder Charles Nevinson, who explains this centuries-old method.

For instructions on how to install a hearth, you can watch part one of one of our previous videos, How to Install a cast stone mantel, which illustrates this process.