On May 9, 11:16*am, "Chip Buchholtz" wrote:
dadiOH wrote:
: giga wrote:

: no support from the floor. It weighs about 25 lbs or so.

: Sure. *You could hang it from just the drywall too.

The weight of the mantle is not what you worry about. *You need to
estimate the load of a 300 lb 6'6" guy leaning on it with his
fore-arms. *Or maybe two such guys. *Or, worst case, someone standing
on it to put the star on the top of the Christmas tree. *If it looks
big and solid and it's attached to the wall, people will assume that
it can take load like a step-stool.

True story: A guy was making some pull-down stairs for a hay-loft, and
asked my father to check the design. *My father recommended beefing up
a cross bar, and the guy asked why, since it didn't have any load on
it. *My father explained that sooner or later some guy was going to
use it as a chin-up bar.

The day after it was installed, the guy was showing it to his
neighbor, a big football player type. *As soon as he saw the bar he
jumped up and chinned himself on it. *


See? A VERY solid warning from one of our contributors. THIS is what
makes the Wreck great.
In real life contractor work----- always assume the worst.