Customer Reviews for Bjorn Woodworks 72 in. x 6 in Shipwreck Wood Cap-Shelf Mantel

We were first sent one that wasn’t level. We returned it and they gave us a discount on another. The new one came and it was good! The installation instructions were not accurate. After some trial and error, we got it up. It’s beautiful! I love the look. If you have some patience and ingenuity, you’ll love it as well.

RE: Bjorn Woodworks 72 in. x 6 in Shipwreck Wood Cap-Shelf Mantel, Distressed Dark Walnut I installed this over my wife's office desk to display items. The mantel itself is very nice and has a nice look to it. The installation is borderline sketchy. This mantel hangs on a 1"x2" (cleat) that has been beveled along one edge. Mine didn't include mounting screws so I used 2-1/2" screws. I placed four in the cleat, then placed another four in the top of the mantel into the cleat. It still doesn't feel firm, but it will suffice for displaying a few pictures frames and such.

It gives a beautiful somewhat rustic look to our fireplace. The finish is easy to maintain with a smooth surface. It's light weight enough for one person ( my Male builder) to set up. It's better than what I had hoped for.

This mantel is gorgeous. It matches my hardwoods perfectly. They are Bruce hardwoods if that makes a difference to anyone. It is perfectly distressed. The installation looks fairly simple except I will just need to pick up a mason art drill bit to install on my stone chimney. It is going to look great with my fireplace and is the perfect size for my large fireplace which is 7feet wife.

The Bjorn Woodworks 72 in. x 6 in Shipwreck Wood Cap-Shelf Mantel, Distressed Dark Walnut is a very beautiful piece. I love the color of this mantel and I love the distressing that is done to the mantel. The mantel is to be hung using a cleat style hanger. The mantel comes with a mounting cleat, 4 mounting screws, the mantel, and 3 screws meant to be screwed into the top to help hold the mantel in place. Overall I do really love this piece, but I didn't like is that there are not pre-drilled holes for the 3 assist holes, which leaves the installer to make sure it all looks nice, and the 3 screws that come don't penetrate very far into the wall cleat. You will want to make very sure that the mounting cleat is set into studs (although there are install instructions for masonry).

Big Mantel! The listing is for 72 inches (the length) by 6 inches (the height). The depth is 10 inches, which means it sticks out from the wall a lot. It still looks good on the wall and can hold a lot because it has 10 inches of depth! The way to hang it on the wall is to first install a long wood strip across the area you want it hung. The back of the mantel is hollow and has a guide that you can hang the mantel on the wood strip. It's pretty easy, but use a level and check twice! The look of the distressed "shipwreck" is nice! It has some jagged spots and scuffed spots to give it that look of imperfection, while still looking new. It's beautiful and a great add on to our house (and we don't even have a fireplace)

This is a gorgeous mantle. The markings on it are absolutely remarkable with being that of a shipwreck wood. Love the back being open and hollowed out a bit. Less heavy. Has the grooves for the hanging of it but we are going to add a couple of pipe style brackets under it on each side, just in case. It’ll give it extra support. The wood grain is absolutely beautiful. Repainting our bedroom and it’s going on the wall above our king bed. Can’t wait to see it up. It’s going to be gorgeous.

Good quality and a big improvement over our old mantel, but you will be disappointed if you were expecting a solid piece of “shipwreck” timber. It is actually a nicely constructed and finished 6-sided box, with the rear open for ease of installation. The joints are well-disguised and not visible on the front – see attached photos for detailed views. Decorative “gouge” patterns are applied at random places on surfaces to provide the “shipwreck” character. Installation would have been easy – IF included instructions were correct! But in fact they are misleading and outright incorrect in some places. The mantel is quite light and is supported on the wall by first attaching a long piece of wood (“cleat”) that is beveled on the wall side, onto which the mantel is lowered (it has a complimentary bevel on its inside.) The mantel is secured to the cleat with 3 screws inserted down through its top. First hint: Make sure you measure carefully and mark the wall accurately – particularly if you need the installed mantel to be flush with the top of a protruding hearth wall, as in our case. Second hint: Mark a line for the BOTTOM of the cleat, not its angled inside edge that is hard to see when positioning the cleat against the wall. Third hint: Hold the cleat up against the wall where you have marked the stud locations in order to transfer those locations onto the cleat to drill the pilot holes. Fourth hint: Mark the horizontal line on the cleat for drilling the pilot holes ¾” from the bottom of the cleat (not 1 ½” from the top.) Fifth hint: Have someone hold the cleat in position on the wall with its bottom lined up with the marked line for its bottom, while you drill to extend the pilot holes through the cleat, into the wall. Then, while the cleat is still held in position, install the screws to secure it to the wall. Sixth hint: Use 3” deck screws for securing the cleat to the wall, reserving the included 3” brass-finish “Anchor Screws” (that the instructions describe as 2 ½”) for securing the mantel to the cleat. Seventh hint: Pre-drill and countersink 3 equally spaced pilot holes on top of the mantel, about 0.4” from the rear. Note that these will go through both the top member of the mantel AND the attached beveled piece. Eighth hint: Since the “Mantel Screws” (that attach the mantel to the cleat) need to go through both the top member of the mantel AND the attached beveled piece, make sure that you use the included 3” “Anchor Screws” for this. The included “Mantel Screws” are only 1 ¼” and are not long enough to reach the cleat. Ninth hint: After drilling the holes for the mantel screws, screw them into the mantel until their points are barely visible, but not extended past the interior beveled surface. Then lower the mantel onto the cleat, have someone hold it in position securely against the wall while screwing the mantel screws all the way into the cleat. The screw heads should end up flush with the mantel surface inside the countersunk holes. I hope this is helpful in you getting a great, attractive mantel installation.

Loving this mantel by Bjorn! Rather than using the piece as a mantel (as it wouldn't quite work for our own fireplace), we opted to use the piece as a decorative/statement floating shelf piece in our living room. We couldn't be more pleased! The mantel comes exactly as described. The mantel itself is a deep brown and definitely mimics the "shipwrecked" look. The mantel is not a single slab of clean-cut wood, but rather has cut-outs and "scratches" throughout that give it a more authentic look. If you are looking for something clean-cut, this piece may not be for you, but this didn't bother us a bit. Install didn't take long at all, but it definitely was a two person job. Be aware that the mantel screws weren't quite long enough to fully go into the cleat, so you may need alternates just to be safe and secure. The instructions were straight-forward, and I attached them in the pictures so you could get an idea of how easy install would be if you did use this as a mantel. Great piece to add into any room to create a unique statement!

The installed mantel is just beautiful. The construction is sturdy and it glued and inset screwed. The wood is Knotty Alder which is a hard wood. The distress and knots in the wood makes the mantel look very rustic. The color is true to the listing and is a dark brown. Installation requires you to screw a cleat to the wall studs, and then lift the mantel unto the cleat. While a little awkward, this is an easy job for two persons. I now have lots of space for decorative display.