I have no idea is there a way of just somehow putting something there to see how hot it gets

We haven’t ordered a mantel yet. Wanting to see if anyone else has one first and if it gets hot on the top.

I am looking into a steel mantel as well. Did you end up ordering one? Interested to hear what you think!

I did not. I talked to a mantel company, and they thought the top would get too hot if we had anything on it. So my plan now is to order a concrete one.

Just a thought....and may or may not make sense. You know how your stainless steel pots and pans' handles are hollow so they don't get hot? Maybe if the mantel was hollow it wouldn't get hot. Or maybe that's not why the pans' handles don't get hot - but I definitely have some pans whose handles don't get hot when I cook on top of the stove and they don't have a silicone coating.

Or... hang the sound bar on the wall? Usually takes two screws...

There is no way a properly installed gas fireplace should need a noncombustible mantle to protect a television.

@Joseph Corlett- That’s good to hear. What would you say is the minimum clearance needed between the firebox and the sound bar/tv?

@Joseph Corlett - We have a huge gas fireplace, and according to the manual, a wood mantel needed to be 27 inches above the opening. Unfortunately, that's way too high for our television to be placed, and there isn't another place in our living room for a TV. We also don't have a separate living space for a TV, so that room is the only option.

To hang the television from a more comfortable height, the only solution for us is to get a non combustible mantel to protect the TV from extreme heat. We took temperatures where the TV was eventually hung, and the heat would definitely damage it without a mantel.

Here was the wall before we moved in.

And here it is now after we had the mantel taken down and TV hung.

So the only option I know of in order to get around the manufacturer's clearance suggestion is to install a non-combustible mantel.

I have the same issue. The builder neglected to inform me that I needed a mantel with a TV on top, so now I'm looking at cutting into my brick and installing a mantel. I found that:

1. The faux wood/concrete mantel is an option, but it is think 5 1/4" and rustic looking--

2. I am considering Stoll as well, for lack of another option. Maybe no candles on top :)

3. My ventless fireplace spec say's I can use wood as well, google your model and look closely at the mantel instructions for combustible and non combustible. You might be able to go that route.

4. I found another place that sells Urethane mantels (not really sure what that is) by Ekena Millwork.

Such a frustrating problem! I had to get my old architect involved to help me with this because I kept running into issues, or people that didn't want to deal with it.

Didn't pick one yet--still working on it.

@alexandra meija - what did you end up buying and how did it work out? I have same dilemma. My sound bar will be attached to my tv mount and be about 3 inches above my mantel. Considering getting a Design Specialties steel mantel for my ventless fireplace and intalling about 12 inch above firebox.

I bought a stainless steel mantel from Stoll it worked beautifully. In, fact everyone kept telling me conflicting info on how high to install it and after exhausting research the bottom line was—- you get to cheat the distance recommended if you use a non combustible material. They also told use we should cut into the brick— we choose to install right up to the brick—- with the TV there ( which it will always be) you cant even see the gaps- we put brown weather stripping in the gaps to prevent heat from escaping up to the tv— couldn’t be happier with the results. I’ll add the specs they sent in a separate post.

The bottom of the mantel is 12” inches from the top of the awning on the fireplace. Bottom of sound bar is 4” from top of mantel. Also, we bought longer lag bolts than what was included to clear the brick and make more secure. Feel free to ask anything else- we struggled for a long time trying to figure this out-
Happy to share our experience.

This is from the fireplace manufacturer

@sherchicago- thanks this is really helpful. Your set up looks great. Would you mind sharing which model you bought, size, color and the price? Looks like Stoll sells “Metal” and Wood Grain Metal models but no prices on their site…but looks like theres a dealer close to my house. Also, have you noticed if the top of mantel or tv/soundbar gets very hot after extended use with the fire on? Thanks!

I did pay extra for the wood grain because it matched better. The wood grain was $250 more than the standard colors. Also, I bought a standard size, there was an upcharge for a custom size.

The top of the mantel gets warm but not hot, I was afraid of that too. You can definately touch it comfortably without pulling your hand away. The sound bar just gets a touch above room temp, not even remotely hot. Honestly, it came out better than expected. My thought with mounting it directly onto the stone was that if it didn't work, I could always cut the stone out later plus, if I was to cut out and mounted directly to the drywall I would have had to add a 2x4 to the drywall to get the mantel to extend out enough. See attached receipt. The top price was the standard price and the Premium Powder Coat was the wood grain selected finish. Not cheap but at this point I just wanted to watch TV and use the fireplace!

We had carpenters working in our subdivision that we asked to install it for us. Can't remember what I paid them, but it wasn't much.

We sell steel mantels offer a special ceramic insulation that we recommend with a sound bar or TV above the fireplace. This reduces the heat at the top of the mantel significantly.

@sherchicago, did you add insulation to your mantel?

@adam_s_baird, If you email me a picture of your fireplace, I can create some mockups showing how a steel mantel will look on your fireplace. Just follow these instructions: FREE Fireplace Design Service at Hansen Wholesale.

@sherchicago thanks for all the additional info. It was very helpful!

@hansen wholesale - appreciate the offer but we just placed an order for our mantel on friday.

@hansen wholesale - I would have loved to have found you when I was perplexed what to do. We did not put insulation in there, however, interesting idea. Our mantel would probably melt chocolate because it is warm,but never hot.

Adam-I hope it works out for you-good luck

Sherchicago - looking at the Stoll mantle but would like to rest the soundbar on the mantle. Does your mantle get warm?

One of the main reasons people purchase our steel mantels is to protect a TV from heat and they often put the soundbar on top of it. We provide a special ceramic fiber insulation blanket (rated at over 2000 degrees F) that makes this possible. I would not recommend placing any electronics on top of a steel mantel without the insulation.

I recently spoke to one of the engineers about this when I was at the latest HPBA trade show and asked if they had any documentation that I could provide to my customers about this. The response was, there are no industry standards provided by soundbar manufacturers regarding heat levels, so for liability reasons, they cannot put it in writing, but they assured me if we use the insulation there will not be enough heat to damage most electronics, including soundbars.

Below are a couple examples from customers. If you email us some pictures of your fireplace, we can show you how it will look with one of our steel mantels using our Free Fireplace Design Service:

Thanks for the information. Can you make it wraparound the fireplace? We have about 6 inches on both sides.

Sure, we can make the mantel wrap around. Use the link I provided to email your pictures and I'll create some mockups for you as well as offer any recommendations needed.