I have a floor-to-ceiling faux stone veneer fireplace. We were thinking about trying to cut off the portion of the stone from about 18″ above the hearth so we could mount a mantel. The current one is very uneven, so mounting something on it would be very difficult. Is there a technique for cutting the upper section of this off?
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It may be possible to cut it using a masonry saw blade, but frankly, this is very tricky. If you’ve never handled a saw with a masonry blade, this should not be your first project. I compare it to trying to hold onto a bucking bronco! It's wrought with danger.
I wonder whether you can sidestep removal of the stone by focusing instead on mounting the mantel on the existing structure, and working around its unevenness. Can you attach some blocking to the stone? Imagine this: If the mantel you create is a hollow box, then attach 2x4s to the stone wall, and slide the mantel on top. I don’t know if cutting the stone out buys you much.
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