Cheers for all the responses, much appreciated!!!
The fire is just an electric fire that we only use for the flame effect, we don't even have any heat coming out of it!! It's flush fitting sitting in a large marble surround which currently has a modern looking wooden mantel around the marble...
I'm buying three oak beams to make a fireplace surround. The top shelf beam will simply sit on the two upright beams using a couple of dowels in the ends of the uprights. The fireplace is in the living room on an external wall so behind the plasterboard is a breezeblock wall. My question is...