Hi guys, my father in law just moved into a new house and is hell bent on installing a 52" lcd tv above his fireplace using a cantilever mount. When I worked at circuit city my installers would not install cantilever mounts to brick because of risk of pulling the brick out of the wall. Is there strong possibility that this could happen?

I was thinking that there would be less of a chance of that happening if I mounted a piece of plywood (using red head anchors) to the fireplace that measured wider and taller than the mount, then anchored the cantilever mount to the fireplace through the wood, for a larger surface area and less overall stress on the fireplace.

What do you guys think?

I would not rely on the brick. Any failure would most likely be catastrophic. There are too many variables that are out of your control and unmeasurable that could impact the mortar strength.

I put a 50 inch plasma on a 30 inch arm three years ago by running channel iron up the face of the fireplace and anchoring it to the rafters in the attic. It was a lot of work but I do not worry when my 21 month old is sitting on the fireplace.

The bricks on a fireplace are not structural, they are just a facade. They aren't designed to hold that weight and will probably fail, maybe right away, maybe 1yr from now. It can be done, but anchoring the mount to the bricks is not the way to do it. You need to attach it to the structure of the house like framing, sill plate, etc. None of which are easy to get to in your case.

Ok thanks for the replys guys. I guess he will just have to use a tilt mount.

I know he wont want to hear this, but I would be very worried about any mount for the reasons stated above. Bricks crack. Some are stronger than others but there is no way to tell. I would be concerned at the point where the bolt (or whatever is used) enters the brick. If it's not perfect, a bit of weight could pull it right out.

I have a 42 plasma in my living room that is mounted with a flat mount on a brick wall (covered w/ drywall). It is an exterior wall 2 feet thick. I drilled a pilot than used 8 inch lag bolts. I'm comfortable with it but Im guessing he doesn't have any more than one brick width to work with?

I know he wont want to hear this, but I would be very worried about any mount for the reasons stated above. Bricks crack. Some are stronger than others but there is no way to tell. I would be concerned at the point where the bolt (or whatever is used) enters the brick. If it's not perfect, a bit of weight could pull it right out.

I have a 42 plasma in my living room that is mounted with a flat mount on a brick wall (covered w/ drywall). It is an exterior wall 2 feet thick. I drilled a pilot than used 8 inch lag bolts. I'm comfortable with it but Im guessing he doesn't have any more than one brick width to work with?

I will be sure to explain the risks of mounting the tv on brick, I have yet to see his fireplace but I am going to assume that it is only 1 brick thick. I have a couple of questions, did you use a 1/2" lag bolts? Also, what size was the pilot hole and did you drill it 8"?

hmm?

Just a thought, and since we have no pictures, have you considered the pole style mounts that drop down from the ceiling. It might be easier than continuing down this path.