Mantle shield

Late to this thread, but wanted to show off our new mantle shield, with the hammered metal look. Impressed?




OK, it's a little hearth humor, but actually it has been a great temporizing measure. The foil is stuck behind a loose custom metal surround, and it actually is very effective at deflecting heat off the shallow mantle. I'm not even sure we'll ever change it, as we can remove it during the off season, and not cover up the soapstone, which we were trying very hard not to cover up when we chose this particular insert (it had the right dimensions to just fill the hole).

Oh- our daughter has epilepsy. We thought we would be able to get rid of the fireplace screen after installing the insert, but her seizures came back. It's there to hold the screen in place, if she falls against the insert. The distance made by the cinderblock means the screen will bang against the surround. I took the screen out for the picture. Works well.

I bought a mantle shield with ceramic spacers and wood screws on Amazon pretty cheap. I think it was Red Devil brand.
Works really good.