Fireplace Hood vs. Mantle Shield/help w/shield

[thinkxingu]

Hello There,
One of the things I need to do is add some sort of shield for my mantle. Today, I saw a fireplace hood which I think would look pretty good--will this work as well as a mantle shield or should I just bite the bullet and buy the mantel shield and tweak it to fit?

Also, I have two questions to make my own mantel shield (I will use 24+ gauge steel plate):

1. Below my mantle is a piece of trim that sticks out from the brick 3/4". Should the shield cover that, too? See pic.
2. What can I use for/where can I find spacers? I cannot seem to find ceramic.
3. Does the shield need to come in front of the mantle or can it just come under it?

S

 

[DAKSY]

Looking at your set up. I believe you can get by with a mantel shield
that'll tuck behind the top of the surround & won't hafta spaced off your mantel...
Bend your sheet metal to 45 degrees & tuck 2-3 inches down behind the surround...
You can bring the upper portion of it out as far as the mantel shelf extends & the
heat from the top of the stove will be diverted away from the wood...