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I have a circular saw and jigsaw, it 'looks' relatively simple....anyone built their own with no experience? Any good resources (currently looking at random stuff on YouTube)
May I be the first to suggest a spirit level?
Aside from that, a pencil and a measuring device, think about whether you want to use shelf brackets or wood batten cleats.
Shelf material choice is up to you. Pine board, conti-board, or plywood, minimum 18mm thick, although depends upon the span of the shelf, especially if you go for the wood cleat approach. Two bits of 18mm ply to give a 36mm shelf could look cool in the right environment.
Combi drill, masonry bits, rawlplugs also if you're fixing to brick/block. Decent plasterboard fixings if you're dry lined.
Post pics after and we can drown you with compliments regarding your man skillz 😀
My main advice is that none of the angles will be close to square so measure as much stuff in place as you can.
Decide on shelf height and then hack the plaster out to shelf thickness to each side of the alcove (make sure that the plaster is sound first 🙂 )
The shelf can then be a less precise fit and either scribed to the back wall or hack out here too. Make good after fitting the shelf
Mantels are simpler. A plain wooden shelf can be made more interesting with [url= http://richardburbidge.com/media/1280/18187-richard-burbidge-trade-brochure-redesign-low-res-complete.pdf ]mouldings around and underneath (p82 onward linky)[/url]. Google "wooden rosettes moulding uk" too