Is my mantel original to my 1920's fireplace?

[polystyrene (WavyGlass)]

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mantel close up.jpg (125.27 KiB) Viewed 1329 times

Hello:

I've already posted this to GardenWeb, but I thought I'd see if anyone on this list can help me.

I recently removed many layers of "updating" from my 1920's fireplace (z-brick, many layers of paint, two layers of plaster) in preparation for tiling. I can't get down to the original brick,because of a layer of pink paint, but it appears to have been yellowish. The fireplace surround is very simple with no obvious decorative elements.

My mantel appears to have been built up of three layers of travertine stone. I originally assumed it was installed at the same time as the z-brick, but now I'm not so sure. It sort of matches the marble hearth stone, so I'm wondering if it is original. I don't really like it, and had planned to replace it with wood, but I might reconsider if it appears to have come with the house.

My home is a small mock tudor bungalow. typical of my neighbourhood. No one else I know has a fireplace exactly like it. The immediate neighbours in a 1920s cape cod have an Edwardian mantel and coal insert typical of my area.

Thanks for any help!

mantel close up.jpg (125.27 KiB) Viewed 1329 times

fireplace.jpg (197.06 KiB) Viewed 1329 times

[Don M]

Hard to say although it seems to fit the overall style of the fireplace.

[phil]

pretty sure mine was just a plank with a little trim underneath the edges. Long gone and replaced by some particleboard POS and like yours someone stuck ugly tiles all over it making the brickwork hard to clean again.

Is the rest of the house fancy? any other stone work? will it lift off ? maybe you can see if the paint goes under it? My guess is it is non original but I'm really not sure.

How long is it? I have a nice art deco mantle that I bought at auction but it was a little too small for mine. I thought ok I'll re-sell it locally but maybe it is worth posting it on FS/Wanted. Its 1/4 sawn oak with original fumed oak finish still intact. It wasn't cheap as I guess lots of condo owners want them to make fakey fireplaces.

[kelt65]

Seeing as how unlikely it is to find a random one to match perfectly the width of the chimney and so forth, and since the shelf overhangs at what looks like to me the sort of length you would expect with a custom installation, I say original or custom. In any case they are interchangeable so if you want a different shelf just put that one in the attic or whatever.

All five of mine are original but very plain and I am putting them away and installing much nicer ones and of architecturally correct style and period.

[polystyrene (WavyGlass)]

The house isn't fancy, and has had other odd cosmetic things done to it, although nothing like the effort that has gone into changing the fireplace over the years. The paint does not go under it. I cant tell what the walls were originally like, because they were at some point covered with textured paintable paper, probably to hold in cracking plaster.

Your mantle sounds interesting, but I am in Canada, so shipping to me would be outrageous.

[polystyrene (WavyGlass)]

[quote="kelletim"]Seeing as how unlikely it is to find a random one to match perfectly the width of the chimney and so forth, and since the shelf overhangs at what looks like to me the sort of length you would expect with a custom installation, I say original or custom. In any case they are interchangeable so if you want a different shelf just put that one in the attic or whatever.

You're probably right. It does fit well, although as we don't like it we will probably replace it with a simple fir slab.

[kelt65]

That pink "paint" might actually be plaster-weld. Was there plaster on top of it?

[polystyrene (WavyGlass)]

It could very well be Plaster-Weld. There were two layers of plaster on top, in two different colours, and then the z-brick. The plaster was very difficult to remove. On closer inspection it appears the brick was red. It looks like the plaster weld has sunk into the cracks of the bricks giving them a yellowish cast. I'll bet the mantle was replaced during the first update. It says on the Plaster-Weld website that the product has been in use since 1952, so who knows?

Thanks for the tip!