Yesterday, I explained how we created the wood surround on our fireplace. Today I'll show you how we added the mantle and the wall above. 

We decided to leave the ledge that was already there {it has the green edge}. This is where the TV sat originally.

Cutting a 2x4 on a 45, we secured it to the top of the ledge to begin the framing process.

The framing is critical because it is what supports the weight of the heavy TV. If it's not secure, then the TV could come crashing down. bad. We are not framers, but we secured it at every possible angle.

Ours are 16" on center. 

We framed an opening that would allow us to access the plug and electrical components in the back. 

 We cut a piece of sheetrock. Sheetrock comes in sheets of 4'x8'. We turned it on it's side and it was a few inches short across the bottom--not a problem. We attached it with screws to the studs.

 The opening in the sheetrock was cut out with the oscillating tool. 

With the leftover piece of the sheetrock, we added a little piece on each side because the wall is exposed on the very edges of the mantle. I used joint compound to fill the space where the sheetrock touches the wall.

 To attach the mantle, we cut a 2x4 in half, lengthwise, and attached them 5" apart, making sure it was level.

 We slipped the bottom edge of the mantle, which is a primed 1x6, on it's side. Using the pneumatic nailer, we attached it to the 2x4 from the underside. It sits right on top of the top row of scrap wood. Because I was so crazy about being level with the scrap wood application, the mantle sits perfectly level with no gap. Yea!   

 Then the front of the mantle, a 1x6 that we cut down to a 1x5, was attached to the front using the nailer. This piece covers up our seam where the sheetrock ends.

The top of the mantle was attached from above. Using a piece of 1x3, we mitered the edges and attached it to the edges of the sheetrock with the nailer. Everything was painted, sanded and caulked. The finished mantle is 6 1/2" tall.

We attached the hanging mechanism for flat screen TV's { We bought ours off Amazon--the low-profile Sanus} to the back of the TV following the manufacturers directions.

 The TV slid on from the top.