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Here's an interesting challenge
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We've got a beautiful walnut mantle that we need to permanently attach to the wall so it doesn't fall over
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But you don't want to use any nails or screws on the surface of it so that you can see those
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So how do you do it? I'll tell you what I like to do. I like to use a French cleat
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A French cleat allows me to remove or install a mantle like this simply by using two pieces of wood
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of wood that interlock with one another, one of which is actually attached to the wall
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and the other one in my case is attached to the mantel. The way you do it is you basically take one piece of lumber
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It can be three-quarters of an inch thick, an inch thick. It really doesn't make too much difference
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And you use a table saw set at a 45-degree angle to split that piece of wood in half
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And once it's cut, those two pieces of wood match together very much like this
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You attach the lower piece, the piece that goes on the wall, so that the chisel point
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faces up and out. And when the piece that is attached the mantle comes down
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you can see how it interlocks and it's impossible for it to come forward
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There we go. The hardest part really about the French Cleat project
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is actually moving the mantle. So just get your measurements right, take your time with your
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cuts, screw it to the wall, screw it to the mantel, drop it in place and you're done
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If you want to discover more home improvement tips, go to ask the builder.com
