What the Heck is the Return Depth of a Mantel?
February 11, 2008 – 7:42 pm | by Accent Building Products
The simple definition of return depth is how far the facing material stands out from the wall. Why is this important you ask? Well, if the return depth is too small the mantel legs will not hug the facing material and if it is too large there will be a hollow space that is too large to finish with scribe molding.
Facing materials such as marble, granite and tile are usually thin, ½” - ¾”. For anything ¾” or smaller you would use the standard return depth of 1”. Basically you want your return depth to be the thickness of the facing material standing out from the wall plus ¼”. This gives a little “wiggle room” just incase your facing materials are not perfectly straight. Is also helps to give the mantel projection.
Sometimes the facing material is a deeper depth; such as in the case of brick. The same principal applies that the return depth should be the facing material plus 1/4”.
All of our mantels include a scribe molding to fit around the interior to complete a finished look. The scribe molding is attached to the inside of the surround opening with finishing nails or adhesive, and fills the gaps to provide a snug, custom fit.
Tags: facing materials, fireplace, granite, mantel, mantels, marble
One Response to “What the Heck is the Return Depth of a Mantel?”
By Geoff on Feb 23, 2008 | Reply
It`s always useful to get some practical advice with home improvements which aren`t always seen in the textbooks.