THE MANTEL GUY

All in all, we are very happy and continue to enjoy the mantle - it has enhanced our living room.

He did the best he could. I am not complaining. He was a nice man. He was reasonable. I can't remember what he was going to charge but it was okay. I was disappointed. I told him to take his time because I had been waiting for a long time and I was just happy to have found someone but when he brought it back, I couldn't get up them because they were too high. He said he was sorry, that he would think about it again and I never heard from him. He was efficient and all that in coming but I didn't think he realized what I needed. His attitude was very good but unfortunately, he spent time making the thing, and I felt bad because it wasted his time as well. I am not blaming him but I don't understand why they don't understand.

Ralph the owner of the company does all the work himself. We had a house fire and he came out and built a custom mantle to go on top of a built in fireplace. The work is stunning. The only thing he doesn't do is stain the mantles. But his work is flawless and he is very reasonable and professional. I would use him again any time.

Ralph was very responsive and worked with me on the design of the panels. He came to my home and we discussed the best design and how he would construct the base. We discussed every detail such as the type of wood, base molding and number of panels. Ralph worked with me to keep the price affordable. Ralph emailed me a drawing of the base and his price. By email, we coordinated on the size and number of corbels. (Ralph makes corbels in his shop but I wanted very fancy ones so I ordered them over the internet.)

Ralph was very prompt on each visit and he worked efficiently by himself. The installation took longer than he anticipated because he had trouble removing the old corbels without damaging the bar top. He also spent extra time leveling the bar top which was uneven before he started. Even though he spent a couple of extra hours on the job, he didn't charge me for the extra time. I insisted that he take more money because the work was meticulous.

The end result is fabulous. Ralph recommended someone to stain the bar (Bobby Christie) and Bobby made the bar look like a fine piece of furniture.

Ralph said he primarily makes mantles but that the can do almost anything out of wood. I will definitely hire him to do more wood projects in my house.

I found this service provider on Angie's list several months prior to using him. I found a design on his web site for a mantel that would work perfectly in my antique home. I thought his prices were only OK until I did some research and found out that he is really a bargain. He modified the design so that it coordinated the woodwork in my home, and built and installed the mantel (real wood, difficult installation because nothing in old houses is plumb or square!). He just finished the installation and we couldn't be happier. Nice man. Excellent workmanship. He did everything he said he would do when he said he would do it. First rate.

We talked to Ralph and visited him at his shop in Torrance. All we told him was that we were going for a Hacienda (Spanish Colonial Revival) look, and we gave him one picture from a book. He came to the house to make some measurements, and gave us a formal quote. Then in 3 weeks, he made a beautiful mantel in alder (to approximate mahogany) that looked exactly like the picture. He adjusted the design so that the mantel would meet modern fire code. He then delivered it as scheduled and installed it in a couple hours, though our wall and existing hearth were not exactly square. He trimmed everything to fit beautifully.

I contacted Ralph through his website, themantelguy.com. He called me the next day and talked about various styles of mantels he was able to create, price, and lead time. I sent him approximately 3 photos of mantels that I had found through the internet that I liked. In the end, I sketched my own contemporary mantel design, incorporating my favorite parts of the photos I had originally sent him. He was able to create the mantel exactly as I had sketched it. He arrived and it took him a couple of hours installing it, as he had to make minor alterations to fit the gas key hole. He cleaned up after himself before leaving. The mantel is quite beautiful and I am extremely happy with his quality work. If you are looking for a custom fireplace mantel (unlike many of the cookie cutter traditional mantels you see in many stores and websites), Ralph Ferrin is the man to call. Take a look at a sample of his fireplace designs on his website at http://www.themantelguy.com