I posted another thread a few weeks ago and got some nice help selecting a zero clearance fireplace. We are going with the Ambiance Elegance 36. I was looking through the manual and noticed the mantel clearances are minimum 51.5" from the base of the unit.
That seems quite high. Definitely higher than the current mantel above our old Heatilator Mark 123. From some google searching, if I want to mount the mantel closer to the top of the fireplace, it looks like my mantel options are to go with a noncombustible mantel, or to choose a combustible mantel but use a mantel shield. Is that right? Are there other options?
If I choose a combustible mantel, can I just have a thin piece of steel fabricated and screwed into the bottomo the mantel so that it is more or less invisible? I'm thinking my wife is going to want a wood mantel.
That seems quite high. Definitely higher than the current mantel above our old Heatilator Mark 123. From some google searching, if I want to mount the mantel closer to the top of the fireplace, it looks like my mantel options are to go with a noncombustible mantel, or to choose a combustible mantel but use a mantel shield. Is that right? Are there other options?
If I choose a combustible mantel, can I just have a thin piece of steel fabricated and screwed into the bottomo the mantel so that it is more or less invisible? I'm thinking my wife is going to want a wood mantel.