Marble and Granite Mantel Shelves
Every one is attracted to the natural beauty of stone.
Natural stone was brought inside for floors, mantels, and even walls. Marble and granite
just like any other natural stone have
inherent beauty. Marble has veins flowing through it as though beneath a
babbling brook. Granite, heavy in weight and with a feeling of
permanency, looks as translucent as skin. Granite and marble offer
richness of color, durability, moister and stain resistance, and ease of
maintenance.
The question I would like to ask is "why don't we see a lot
of granite or marble shelves in a home. "The answer is that not everyone has the
skills and technical knowledge to structural accomplish this task.
Granite and marble shelves tend to be rather heavy when they
span five to six feet in length. Additionally when a granite slab is longer than
three feet long the stresses from the weight put a large pressure on the
unsupported span. With today advanced technology and smart construction it
is possible to craft a beautiful and stunning granite shelves that can float on
the wall above a fireplace.
Granite Shelves For Fireplace Mantel
The problem with granite's heaviness was solved by incorporating a steel insert into
the underside of the granite The insert has been skillfully inlaid into the
bottom of the granite surface and camouflaged by colored epoxy. This reinforces the granite
shelf without distracting from the beauty of the stone. Fabrication of the
granite shelf with a steel insert is an advanced process that requires the
skill of expert stone fabricators and not everyone has the capabilities to get it
done right.
The granite stone for each shelf is hand selected for consistency and natural
beauty. Each stone is polished or honed on both sides. The granite shelves
showcase outstanding craftsmanship and natural beauty of the granite. various
granite edge finished are available. For traditional or contemporary
decorative themes the most popular granite shelf is with a straight polished
edge. For a more rustic or natural feel a lot of people prefer a rough chiseled
edge. For a rough chiseled edge many people chose a honed finish shelf. However
if you prefer a polished finish care is taken to darken the chiseled edge to
more closely match the polished granite surface.
The Granite tops are designed for use with supporting corbels. The wider 8 inch
top requires a corbel with minimum depth of 6 inches and the narrower 7 inch top
requires a corbel with a minimum depth of 5 1/4 inches. InvitingHome.com offers
the largest of corbels online that can meet both the size and support
requirements as well as your style choice.
Floating Mantel Shelves with Granite or Marble Top
Wide variety of mantel shelves are available in today's market.
InvitingHome.com provides to you a high quality hand-crafted by
expert furniture craftsman mantel shelves that are made from the finest selected hardwoods. Mantel shelves
are available in an either a 6 foot or 5 foot
length, to accommodate most common sizes of the fireplace.
You can choose from two styles of wood shelves, a regular 5 -1/8 inch profile with
8 inch granite or marble top and a low profile 3-7/8 inch shelf that
accommodates a 7 inch granite or marble top. Both mantel shelves can be
fabricated in selected hardwood such as hard maple, alder, white oak and cherry
either finished or unfinished. Your mantel shelf can be also made in Tiger
Maple, mahogany, flame birch, walnut or any other exotic wood species of your
choice.
The wood finishing process is a labor of love. Skilled craftsman hand-apply in
multiple layers a
secret blend of sealant and shellacs, and then finishes with a hand-rubbed natural
waxes. The skill of the finishers and natural products used gives your mantel
shelf a furniture quality look typically found with period reproductions.
The standard top is a full thickness 1-1/4" (3 cm) Absolute Black granite that
has been selected for consistency, strength and interest. The Absolute Black
granite can come polished or honed with either a straight or chiseled edge.
Additionally, we offer many other granite and marble tops such as Galaxy Black,
Volga Blue, Rain Forest Green marble or Carrara marble. You are always welcome to call for custom
quotes.
The biggest advantage to our mantel shelf collection is that
we have done all the engineering to insure that the mantel shelf with marble or
granite top can be fully supported by the clever wood cleat system. The internal
design of the shelf and rigid construction allows the mantel shelf to bear the
full weight of the granite or marble top without separation from the
wall.
These are truly self-supporting shelves and do not require
the use of corbels to mount them. However, at InvitingHome.com we offer an
extensive collections of corbels that would work well with your project.
