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Vent: dropped $180 on a "historic" mantel that turned out to be a Home Depot repro
So I finally hit a small win this week and I want to share it because it felt good after a rough patch. I bought a painted-over mantel off a guy in Allentown for $180, all excited because he swore it came out of an 1890s row house he was gutting. Got it home and started stripping the paint and found a stamped date of 2004 on the back plus a big box cutter label under the third layer. The wood grain is fake, it is just particle board with a veneer, and the "hand carved" details are plastic. I should have looked at the back before handing over cash, that is the whole thing. I mean it is a decent looking mantel if you do not touch it, so I am going to sand it, repaint it, and use it in my mudroom, but I am out $180 on a piece I thought was the real deal. Maybe it's just me but if a seller will not flip a piece over for you, walk away. Anyone else get burned on a "salvaged" piece like this, and did you just eat the cost or go back at the seller?
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