Is plywood a good thing to cover my brick fireplace or something else?
I opinion is that unless you are a very experienced wood worker, you are not going to save much money by trying build a mantel and fireplace surround piecemeal from plywood. In the end you will not be happy with the result. The problem with plywood is the edges. You will need a design that deals with the edges and the ugly laminations. This is not always easy for the inexperienced to do. In order to cut the plywood to the sizes you need, you will need a table saw or some skill at using a straight edge and a handheld circular saw. You might be able to get the pieces of plywood cut at the lumber yard or home improvement but it has been my experience that they usually don’t make very precise cuts. In the long run you will be much happier with a pre fabricated mantle and surround. I have always attached mantles and surrounds to the brick using lead anchors and bolts to hold a series of 1 x 3’s to the brick and then nailing the finished mantle and surround to these pieces. You need to be su
