Lexington Hearth Hayloft Beam Concrete Faux Wood Mantel Shelf

Modeled from a hand-hewn beam, 8 inches deep and 5.375 inches tall at the wall

The Lexington Hearth Hayloft Beam is a wall-mounted, non-combustible cast mantel shelf modeled directly from a hand-hewn barn beam. Its cross-section is 8 inches deep and 5.375 inches tall where it meets the wall, and it carries rough-hewn tool marks, dowel ends, nail holes, checks and splits, and character knots.

Non-combustible is what lets a television go above the fireplace

Cast in Burncrete and certified to ASTM E136, the standard test at 750 degrees Celsius. In Lexington's words the non-combustible option "allows for closer placement to heat sources, making it an excellent choice for safely mounting a TV above the fireplace." A wood mantel sits at whatever clearance your fireplace manufacturer sets, and that clearance is often what pushes a television too high to watch. Your fireplace manual still governs the height.

The dowel ends and nail holes are what make it read as salvaged

A hand-hewn beam is squared with an adze rather than sawn, which leaves shallow scalloped facets down the faces instead of parallel saw lines. The Hayloft reproduces those, and adds the peg ends and nail holes left by whatever the beam was originally joined to. Those are the details that separate a reclaimed-looking mantel from a textured one.

It weighs 62 pounds at 48 inches, 82 at 60 inches and 102 at 72 inches, so fix the bracket into framing

The bracket carries the whole weight, so it has to reach structural framing rather than drywall anchors. Bracket, hardware, touch-up kit and manual all ship with it.

Hand-painted, so no two are identical, and custom colors are available

It is offered in five standard colors. Lexington casts and paints each one by hand and states that there will be minor variances in color, weight and final dimensions. That is the nature of the product, not a defect. They will also produce custom colors and lengths on request, so contact us before ordering if the standard range does not suit. Order a Bluegrass color sample first either way: what you pay for it is credited back when you buy the mantel.

Best for barn conversions, lodges and rooms with exposed structural timber

The Hayloft is the mantel to choose when the room already has real hand-hewn wood in it and a milled profile would look out of place beside it. At 8 inches deep it takes a garland or a row of framed photographs comfortably, and the three lengths cover most standard fireplace openings. If your room is rustic but lighter in feel, the Grist Mill carries weathered grain without the hewn facets.

WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including ceramic fiber and crystalline silica dust, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer. Do not drill, saw, sand, or machine Fiber, Burncrete, or Media products, as this generates these airborne dusts. Avoid inhaling dust; use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. For more information, visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.