Lexington Hearth Tobacco Barn Concrete Faux Wood Mantel Shelf

Hand-hewn tool marks and growth rings visible on the cut ends

The Lexington Hearth Tobacco Barn is a wall-mounted, non-combustible cast mantel shelf, 7.75 inches deep, cast to reproduce a hand-hewn tobacco barn timber. The character it carries is specific: hand-hewn tool marks along the faces, deep checking, character knots, and growth rings visible on the cut ends where the beam was sawn to length.

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.

It comes in three lengths, more than most of the cast range

48, 60 and 72 inches. Most of the Bluegrass beams are made in two lengths, so if your fireplace opening is small enough that a 60-inch mantel would overhang awkwardly, this is one of the few cast profiles that goes shorter without a custom order.

It runs from roughly 70 pounds at the shortest length to 86 pounds 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

Maduro, Pale Honey, Weathered Grey, Eclipse and Roasted Chestnut are the 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 farmhouse and rustic rooms, and for narrower fireplaces that still want a full timber profile

The Tobacco Barn is the most widely usable of the rustic cast beams: it has the hand-hewn character of the heavier profiles without the mass of the Farmhouse, and it is the one to reach for on a wall that cannot take a 10-inch projection. The five standard colors cover light through to near-black, so it works against pale plaster and against dark brick.

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.