John Pollman
Member
- Messages
- 1,332
- Location
- Rochester Hills, MI
Hi all,
I've been wanting to do this for a long time but it was going to be a real pain so I've put it off. But I think I've come up with a solution that will be some work but also update the room and get me the result that I want. I've got a 42" LCD HD set in the family room. It's on a stand in the corner of the room which doesn't really work all that well. I want to mount it on the wall above the fireplace. Currently the entire end wall of the family room is brick. It's about fourteen feet long with a raised hearth and the brick runs from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Mounting a bracket to the brick would be fairly easy but getting power and A/V cables hidden would be a drag.
The other day I was looking at it and hit upon what I think is a good idea. At this point I'm thinking about just removing the brick all the way across from the ceiling down to a point that's about the center of the current mantle. Then I'd just frame out the area above the brick and drywall it. I'd do it so that the drywall would be flush with the remaining brick. Then I'd build a new mantle that would mount right at the transition. That would help hide the seam when all is done.
The mantle would be about 16-18" above the top of the fire box opening. Then the TV would mount a few inches above the new mantle. I hate to lose the existing mantle because I built it myself about eight years ago and I like the way it looks. But I figure with new drywall I'd build a new more contemporary mantle instead of the rustic look of the log.
I have fires fairly regularly in the winter and even when I've got a pretty hot fire in there for five or six hours, the brick stays fairly cool up near the mantle. Yes it's pretty hot right above the fire box but it doesn't get that hot for more than four or five courses of brick. Even the air above the mantle is pretty cool when the fire has been burning for a long evening. Before I do this I'm going to get a good hot fire going and let it burn for a good long time and then put a thermometer up where the TV will be and see what happens. I really think it will be fine but I want to be sure BEFORE I start tearing out brick. :lol:
Anyway, if I proceed with this project I can easily hide all of my speaker wire and cable inside the wall and have a nice clean installation. I can put HDMI terminal plates behind the TV and then over near where the rest of the A/V gear is at. Right now my sub-woofer is just sitting on the hearth and I think I'll just build a small rack to put the cable box, Blu-Ray player, and A/V receiver on. It will be out of the way but still accessible.
I'm thinking that this project will update the room a bit and bring it into the 21st century. The house was built in 1969, well before LCD High-Def flat panels. Most people these days want to have a home theater room and I think this will really work well.
Do any of you have a TV mounted above a fireplace? If so, have you had any issues? Thanks for any input!
Oh yeah, here's a before picture....
I've been wanting to do this for a long time but it was going to be a real pain so I've put it off. But I think I've come up with a solution that will be some work but also update the room and get me the result that I want. I've got a 42" LCD HD set in the family room. It's on a stand in the corner of the room which doesn't really work all that well. I want to mount it on the wall above the fireplace. Currently the entire end wall of the family room is brick. It's about fourteen feet long with a raised hearth and the brick runs from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Mounting a bracket to the brick would be fairly easy but getting power and A/V cables hidden would be a drag.
The other day I was looking at it and hit upon what I think is a good idea. At this point I'm thinking about just removing the brick all the way across from the ceiling down to a point that's about the center of the current mantle. Then I'd just frame out the area above the brick and drywall it. I'd do it so that the drywall would be flush with the remaining brick. Then I'd build a new mantle that would mount right at the transition. That would help hide the seam when all is done.
The mantle would be about 16-18" above the top of the fire box opening. Then the TV would mount a few inches above the new mantle. I hate to lose the existing mantle because I built it myself about eight years ago and I like the way it looks. But I figure with new drywall I'd build a new more contemporary mantle instead of the rustic look of the log.
I have fires fairly regularly in the winter and even when I've got a pretty hot fire in there for five or six hours, the brick stays fairly cool up near the mantle. Yes it's pretty hot right above the fire box but it doesn't get that hot for more than four or five courses of brick. Even the air above the mantle is pretty cool when the fire has been burning for a long evening. Before I do this I'm going to get a good hot fire going and let it burn for a good long time and then put a thermometer up where the TV will be and see what happens. I really think it will be fine but I want to be sure BEFORE I start tearing out brick. :lol:
Anyway, if I proceed with this project I can easily hide all of my speaker wire and cable inside the wall and have a nice clean installation. I can put HDMI terminal plates behind the TV and then over near where the rest of the A/V gear is at. Right now my sub-woofer is just sitting on the hearth and I think I'll just build a small rack to put the cable box, Blu-Ray player, and A/V receiver on. It will be out of the way but still accessible.
I'm thinking that this project will update the room a bit and bring it into the 21st century. The house was built in 1969, well before LCD High-Def flat panels. Most people these days want to have a home theater room and I think this will really work well.
Do any of you have a TV mounted above a fireplace? If so, have you had any issues? Thanks for any input!
Oh yeah, here's a before picture....