How to Remove a Granite Stone Mantel {our fireplace}
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Today I am sharing how to remove a granite stone mantel. Before I start though, my grandfather is coming today from the hospital (well back to the Nursing Home) so that is good! I will share more on that later this week. It’s almost been 3 months since we moved into our house and it we are plugging away at projects. We currently have a huge landscaping and excavation project going on as well as our family room makeover. The biggest project in the family room involved the fireplace. The existing mantel was a bit too high and the granite stone mantel appeared cold looking to me. I know that sounds crazy but in an effort to make the home ours, we wanted to warm up the space a bit and create more of a rustic modern look. PS. I have included affiliate links for items you may see and like.
Here is the family room and mantel on our move in day.
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I won’t lie, this project made me a little nervous. The existing stone wall is solid (not veneer) so removing the granite stone mantel was tricky as we didn’t want to mess up the integrity of the stone wall. My dad is usually on board with my projects but this one, he was not. He basically told me that if I screw up the stone wall, I was in deep crapola.
So I found a mason that actually did work on the house for the previous owner and he agreed to remove the granite mantel. What he didn’t realize was the granite piece was a 15 inch slab that ran through the entire stone wall to the brick chimney. This created a problem as I was now left with a granite piece still in the wall.
How to Remove a Granite Stone Mantel
The mason started by drilling holes in the granite slab and then basically used a chisel and hammer to remove it in pieces.
Eventually, the granite mantel was off. To cut down on the dust (it was horrible), they used a shop vac to suck up the dust as the mason was drilling. They would drill holes and tap off with a hammer. The entire mantel took about an hour to remove.
Once the mantel was removed, he did the same process to remove the granite corbels.
We were not sure how to remove the granite mantel ourselves hence the call to a professional. We love to DIY but sometimes it’s necessary to call a pro.
The mason must have asked me 4 or 5 time before he started, “are you sure you want to do this?” He was not convinced that my idea was going to work and more importantly, he was a little concerned about wrecking the stone wall. I don’t blame him. The fact that we left the existing slab still in the stone wall was key as that was a major support for the stone wall.
UPDATE: See the new Southern Pine Wooden Beam Mantel stained chocolate brown
RELATED: See how we stained our new mantel post, “how to stain a yellow southern pine wood beam.”
It would have been impossible to remove enough of it to cover with stone so I decided to deal with it. I plan to use crafting / stone paint to make faux looking stones to cover the granite line. I will use a caulking tube of cement to create fake grout lines so it ties in with the existing wall. I have not done this project yet so wish me luck! Stay tuned, the new mantel will be constructed from a 100 year old wooden beam in our barn. It looks REALLY good! Be sure to check out our Mediterranean Home Page to see all the projects going on. UPDATE: See our new Mantel INSTALLED “ How to install a wood mantel on a stone fireplace with Rebar {before and after} “
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Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
Hello Jessica, wow what a project! I’m can’t wait to see the end result.
Jessica, I love you dearly. However, I really don’t get it. It is your fireplace and you can do what you want Heaven knows. I’m just wondering WHY????? There are so many creative things you could do with stone (you have already started thinking on this) so why remove such a natural, beautiful element in the room? I hope the price was right! I know I am being extremely candid. It is not my intention to be insulting. So many of us would kill for that house with it’s fireplace. You are so blessed.
Great question Linda! The existing mantel was 1.5 feet too high in order for us to put our tv on top. We tried and it was like looking up at the ceiling to see the tv. -ha. PLUS , we are changing the style of the home from an old world mediterranean style to a rustic modern. Wait until you the new thick timber beam salvaged from a warehouse in the city. It’s looking amazing! 😉
Can’t wait to see the end result.
I agree that the mantel was too high and too much…I’m not the biggest fan of the large flat pieces on the face, but I would imagine the white one at least would be covered now by at least part of the tv. Might I suggest that some type of framed frame screen much take some of the attention away from the smaller stones surrounding the opening? Unless that’s your style. I find it busy looking and attention-grabbing ..that being said, what do I know? lol
It’s a beautiful house and changing the style can be daunting…I’m sure you’ll make it your own and it will be lovely!