I am ready to buy a plasma and put it on top of fireplace - but how to hide wiring ? I need to go about 4 feet up and 4 feet horizontally. I think i better run 1.5 inch condo to it - to future-proof it. I can't go straight down from Plasma into basement - because this is where firebox is. But if i go horizontally first - I will have to cut several studs and i am afraid it will weaken my wall.

Should i just run condo outside of the house ? But it may look ugly...

Any advice\pictures ?

1. Does the plasma mount to the wall above the FP?
2. Or does it sit in a recess of some sort that is above the FP?
3. Can you drop your cabling in from above?

For instance, drill your hole through the top of the 2x4 wall that the plasma mounts to, cut out a hole in the right spot behind the plasma and drop your cables in from above. Running conduit will make future changes easier. The top (2) 2x4's should be the only ones that you should have to drill through. You should have access to this from your attic, unless there is a room above the FP on the second story. Exterior conduit is an option for sure, if it tends to be unsightly, then plant a bush or shrub or tree in front of the conduit.

chris

I recently mounted my plasma over a FP. I did have the advantage of having planned the whole thing before the FP was installed and wall built, so I did leave myself a small chase back there. But for what it's worth, large conduit in that wall is very useful. I ran two 2" conduits from behind the TV to the equipment rack a few feet down and to the left. This has worked out great. One thing I would do is make the conduit as large as possible. When I pulled the cables that go from the pio media center to the TV I was very glad I used 2" conduit. DVI conmnectors are somewhat large.

Plasma will be on the wall above the fireplace, there is no recess.
There is a room on second floor over fireplace - so it's 15 feet one way to attic.

Outdoor conduit probably not a good idea because - i am in Chicago, and it gets cold in winter, so i'll need to insulate conduit. My house got English basement - so there is slope outside of the fireplace and fireplace kind of hangs in the air.

Don't know what your fireplace looks like, but you could go into the wall with wires directly behind the plasma. Then run wires down and back out of the wall just above your fireplace mantle. Then run wires along mantle where it meets wall. Once you gotten your wires to the end of the mantle, go back into the wall with wires and run down to floor. Remove baseboard and run wires horizontal to equipment. Go back into wall with wires and up to equipment height. Then finally bring wires back out of wall for connection to equipment. Go back and cover exposed wires on top of mantle by adding more wood trim to mantle. Replace baseboard to cover wires at floor.

Of course you'll only want to do this once you have ALL wires run because you can't easily run future wires through all these steps. Probably a good idea to run all possible future wires the first time and be done.

is it a good idea to get this thing:

http://www.panamax.com/products.cfm?group=22&sec=detail&id=231&ly=h

to run power to it ?

With the room above the FP, running wire from the attic becomes difficult. It can be done, since this is an outside wall (I assume) that the FP is on. You can try snaking the wire down the wall of the room upstairs from the attic. But you will still need to get through the floor and the top of the wall of the FP. This would probably require some drywall work. This could become a lot of work. Hifi-matt's recommendation would work also and it may be the easiest option given your situation. With the cold weather issue, I agree, you should avoid the exterior conduit idea.

chris

is it a good idea to get this thing:

http://www.panamax.com/products.cfm?group=22&sec=detail&id=231&ly=h

to run power to it ?
Great idea but I wouldnt run any low voltage wiring within a foot of electrical lines.

has anyone installed their wiring actually behind the wall (i.e. in the fireplace cavity)? if so did you place your wiring (whether it was a/v or power) within some sort of conduit? my concern is heat insulation. i do not want my wires to possibly melt if they were to make contact with a warm or hot fireplace box.

any answers are greatly appreciated.

has anyone installed their wiring actually behind the wall (i.e. in the fireplace cavity)? if so did you place your wiring (whether it was a/v or power) within some sort of conduit? my concern is heat insulation. i do not want my wires to possibly melt if they were to make contact with a warm or hot fireplace box.

any answers are greatly appreciated.

I gave up on over the fireplace mounting. I opened a drywall - there is way to many studs there to route wiring horizontally. I thought about ripping insulation from between two studs (about 3 inch apart) and run all the wiring vertical thru it - but decided against it - i am afraid of cold\moisture going thru that space. My plasma will be going on a wall next to the fireplace. Couldn't get the mantel off either.

I gave up on over the fireplace mounting. I opened a drywall - there is way to many studs there to route wiring horizontally. I thought about ripping insulation from between two studs (about 3 inch apart) and run all the wiring vertical thru it - but decided against it - i am afraid of cold\moisture going thru that space. My plasma will be going on a wall next to the fireplace. Couldn't get the mantel off either.


sad to know u gave up on it. but why would u need to run the wiring horizontally? can't u just run the wiring to a wall opening slightly to the side of the panel , but close enuff so that it will be covered when the panel is mounted on the wall? also why would u need to remove the mantel? this is only an exterior barrier not any obstacle behind the wall right?

sad to know u gave up on it. but why would u need to run the wiring horizontally? can't u just run the wiring to a wall opening slightly to the side of the panel , but close enuff so that it will be covered when the panel is mounted on the wall? also why would u need to remove the mantel? this is only an exterior barrier not any obstacle behind the wall right?

My plasma less then the size of fire place, if i could remove the mantel - i can try to hide the wires between the mantel and bricks on fireplace front to run horizontally, and than go down on a side of fireplace,

I am going to run my cabling through a PVC pipe that will raise above the Firebox to about TV height. My neighbor has had sucess with his. Anyone see problems with that?

I am going to run my cabling through a PVC pipe that will raise above the Firebox to about TV height. My neighbor has had sucess with his. Anyone see problems with that?

my only concern with using pvc is that it is still susceptible to hot temperature which the firebox could give off. is this new construction or exsiting walls in place already?

My plasma less then the size of fire place, if i could remove the mantel - i can try to hide the wires between the mantel and bricks on fireplace front to run horizontally, and than go down on a side of fireplace,

so u are talking about having wiring in FRONT of the fireplace wall & not behind it??

so u are talking about having wiring in FRONT of the fireplace wall & not behind it??

that was one of the possibilities i was considering.

Here is what i found when i opened the drywall

http://images5.fotki.com/v80/photos/1/135985/2922631/P1050317-vi.jpg

high-res here http://images5.fotki.com/v80/fileN8JJ/d4c24/1/135985/2922631/P1050317.jpg

I'm not laughing at your picture, but it's funny because that's exactly how I got started on my project, I made a somewhat large hole in my wall to see what was back there. I just kept cutting.

Eventually what I did was to remove the entire drywall from the mantle up to the ceiling, removed the mantle, removed the bricks. I reworked the studs to be 16" on center so I could have good support for the plasma mount. Then I ran 2" conduit from the attic down. Is that an outside wall? The insulation is confusing if not (but of course I live in Florida so generally only the outside walls are insulated, maybe it's different up north).

Anyway, my point is that maybe you don't want to give up just yet. I ended up putting some built-ins on either side of my fireplace for components and tiled the fireplace (instead of the brick). Looks much nicer and probably added some value to my home. The last piece is yet to come, the plasma, but soon...

You didn't mention what the rest of the room looks like. In my case the fireplace is the center of the room so having the TV anywhere else did not make sense. Maybe in your room having it on a different wall will look good and ease the wiring.

I'm not laughing at your picture, but it's funny because that's exactly how I got started on my project, I made a somewhat large hole in my wall to see what was back there. I just kept cutting.

Eventually what I did was to remove the entire drywall from the mantle up to the ceiling, removed the mantle, removed the bricks. I reworked the studs to be 16" on center so I could have good support for the plasma mount. Then I ran 2" conduit from the attic down. Is that an outside wall? The insulation is confusing if not (but of course I live in Florida so generally only the outside walls are insulated, maybe it's different up north).

Anyway, my point is that maybe you don't want to give up just yet. I ended up putting some built-ins on either side of my fireplace for components and tiled the fireplace (instead of the brick). Looks much nicer and probably added some value to my home. The last piece is yet to come, the plasma, but soon...

You didn't mention what the rest of the room looks like. In my case the fireplace is the center of the room so having the TV anywhere else did not make sense. Maybe in your room having it on a different wall will look good and ease the wiring.

Feel free to laugh. You absolutely right - it started as a small hole, but then i just had to see what's there .... then if it's any better on another side ...
I am in middle of similar project - that started when i decided to save 400$ on a second HDTV tivo and that turned out into whole house automation\audio&video distribution system - i already spend 3000$ and going to spend 5000$ on equpment.... I can't really see the savings anymore...

For some reason i don't want build-ins in there. I got high ceiling in that room and i was thinking about running a crown molding about 5-10 inches below ceiling - to hide wiring for plasma, and put a rope lightning on the crown molding (facing ceiling) - that can be a nice background light to watch TV with.

Below is my floor plan - i got optional fireplace and morning room. This is outside wall, but because i am not in Florida ;) - i am afraid if I'll mess with insulation - I'll have snow falling into my family room ;) Stop over the fireplace is perfect cause it allows for correct 7.1 sound placement and i thought about putting an island between kitchen and family room so i can eat on it and watch the TV.

I decided to get a swing mount and put plasma on a garage wall - it be OK - if i wouldn't like it - I'll go back to plan A (but i need to finish basement first)

http://images14.fotki.com/v249/photos/1/135985/2922631/P1050318-vi.jpg

Hight res - http://images14.fotki.com/v249/fileJVjh/ea118/1/135985/2922631/P1050318.jpg

Here is what i found when i opened the drywall

http://images5.fotki.com/v80/photos/1/135985/2922631/P1050317-vi.jpg

high-res here http://images5.fotki.com/v80/fileN8JJ/d4c24/1/135985/2922631/P1050317.jpg


kirill that pic is funny tho.. but only because it seems its something i would do too!

but even with insulation & esp with the opening u hjave can u just run a (2" ?)conduit down to your unfinished basement and pull wires thru it to your stereo? presuming that your stereo is on either side of the fireplace?

i agree with gatormike. it may not be necessary to give up on it just yet & i dont think u will need to rearrange things (studs,..) behind the wall to mount & wire your plasma either.

kirill that pic is funny tho.. but only because it seems its something i would do too!

but even with insulation & esp with the opening u hjave can u just run a (2" ?)conduit down to your unfinished basement and pull wires thru it to your stereo? presuming that your stereo is on either side of the fireplace?

i agree with gatormike. it may not be necessary to give up on it just yet & i dont think u will need to rearrange things (studs,..) behind the wall to mount & wire your plasma either.


I can't run it vertically - because there is a firebox - i need to go horizontally somewhat - if you look on a right side of the pic - there is 2-pack of studs, than there is a 4pack. Too many studs to go thru. i am make a large hole thru the studs - i am afraid it will weaken the structure. Rearranging the studs is very labor intensive.

the firebox only has so much in-depth (i.e. going "into the wall" direction) penetration. my point is that perhaps u can run the wiring into the wall say maybe 2 feet or so? then down vertically into the basement area. this is what i intend to do with mine.

this is the best image i could find to somewhat illustrate my point. before (fireplace as-is):
http://www.joelertola.com/grfx/grfx_img/Fireplace.jpg

then after (with wiring path shown in red) see attachment. i think there should be some open airspace behind the back of the fireplace box & the fireplace walla cavity in which wiring can be run out from the great room wall and down to the basement. hope this makes sense.

then after (with wiring path shown in red) see attachment. i think there should be some open airspace behind the back of the fireplace box & the fireplace walla cavity in which wiring can be run out from the great room wall and down to the basement. hope this makes sense.

Woudn't work for me - my fireplace hanging outside the house (no basement under it)

Woudn't work for me - my fireplace hanging outside the house (no basement under it)

kirill, mine does to. no basement directly underneath it, but there is still support structure and access to it from the basement. the fireplace chimney extends ~3 feet from the main external wall all the way to the rooftop.

kirill, mine does to. no basement directly underneath it, but there is still support structure and access to it from the basement. the fireplace chimney extends ~3 feet from the main external wall all the way to the rooftop.

No direct access on mine - all closed down be 2x10. I just installed a new fireplace in a basement - there all kinds of clearance requirements to combustible materials - to do it right I'll need to rip siding from outside and it's no fun to do while it snows. I'll just put plasma on garage wall.

If i'll ever go back to over fireplace idea - i think i am going to my plan B - horizontal wiring in fat crown molding and vertical behind dryvall.

KAHLILJ,
It is a new house that I ran a 5 foot piece of PVC up from the basement, higher than the firebox and off to the corner. This will hopefully keep the wires off the firebox. It is behind the wall since there is lots of open space around fireplace inserts. What do you think? Is something going to melt?

KAHLILJ,
It is a new house that I ran a 5 foot piece of PVC up from the basement, higher than the firebox and off to the corner. This will hopefully keep the wires off the firebox. It is behind the wall since there is lots of open space around fireplace inserts. What do you think? Is something going to melt?


deep pockets, i am still learning about this myself. one thing i was informed of was, that the fireplace external wall does not get very hot. some electrical pvc i have seen (usually gray colored not the white for water service) is rated to 90°C which is ~194°F. the firebox does not reach that temp so i believe the pvc should provide adequate protection & no melting should occur. but i have also read that the maximum safe temp for pvc pipe is ~140°F. can someone verify this?

also check out this site for physical props of their PVC pipe.
http://www.harvel.com/piping-pvc.asp
although i think it is for the water service pvc (i.e. white color). it's probably close to electrical pvc pipe. notice the softening (or melt initiation) temp.

lastly check out this site specifcally for electrical pvc:
http://www.iewc.com/Tech18b.htm

hope this helps & does not confuse you too much. :)

Thanks, I used 2" white PVC and will investigate the melting point...before I burn the house down?

Great info here. I have no issues running the wires for the components down to the crawl space and over to the cabinet. I am running them through the back and into one of theose "fake" pre-fab chiminey thingy s and in to the crawl space. the fireplace is gas logs, so I don't really have too much problem there. The issue is where to get the power from? Should I hire an electrician to put a box in the wall, or run the cable to the outlet some how or what?

What are you guys doing about the power part of the equation? I don't feel comfortable running an extension cord down to the crawl space, yet. but the longer I wait, the more impatient I get...

Chris

What are you guys doing about the power part of the equation? I don't feel comfortable running an extension cord down to the crawl space, yet. but the longer I wait, the more impatient I get...

Chris

Power have to be in condo. If you can route condo there - than go ahead.

Ok. Great. So I will just use an outlet box (with conduit opening) and wire up an outlet in there. Run conduit from the outlet inside the fake chiminey and into the crawlspace, never going to the outside. From there, I will tie in to the electrical outlet that is in the crawlspace. not that anyone would know this, but does this sound up to code?

Also, anyone that has a plasma installed, did you run a dedicated circuit? I assume no since I can't see it drawing that much power, but I wanted to ask to make sure. If so, I will pull a wire from the panel to the location the conduit enters the crawl.

...
What are you guys doing about the power part of the equation? I don't feel comfortable running an extension cord down to the crawl space, yet. but the longer I wait, the more impatient I get...

Chris

chris,
personally i would never run an extension cord in hidden space. ithink it might be a code violation, but to me it's just unsafe practice in general. i am planning on tieing into an existing circuit & running to a new receptacle behind the tv. like yourself, mine is a gaslog insert type. therefore i'm trying to be cautious about running the electrical line near that gas line underneath the fireplace. i tried to sketch my intended layout as best as i could forgive my drafting skills. :)


hope this helps.
kahlil

kahlil

I agree with the extension cord plan. My plan was to use true electrical wiring just like they use in the walls, out into the fake chimney in conduit, under the crawl where there is an outlet and tie it in there. however, in looking more, I have and outlet in a similar location to yours so I guess I could run horizontal and tie in there. I assume you will remove the sheet rock in a small section across the wall and chisel out to place the wire in the studs? Let me know how it is going for you.

In the attached image, I show how my FP is laid out. In the insert, you can see the way I would go through the studs. Remove a section of drywall, chisel out a groove in the studs, and then run the wire, cover with a metal electrical plate, and replace the drywall. BTW, the inset image of the stud is from the side, with the stud facing left to right. Forgot to put that in the image.

My skills aren't great either. But maybe some of this discussion will help someone.

Sometimes it is best to use Google to find answers. :)

Look at Step 10 (http://doityourself.com/electric/h2installelecwiring.htm)

That's what i was trying to say and draw...

kahlil

I agree with the extension cord plan. My plan was to use true electrical wiring just like they use in the walls, out into the fake chimney in conduit, under the crawl where there is an outlet and tie it in there. however, in looking more, I have and outlet in a similar location to yours so I guess I could run horizontal and tie in there. I assume you will remove the sheet rock in a small section across the wall and chisel out to place the wire in the studs? Let me know how it is going for you.

In the attached image, I show how my FP is laid out. In the insert, you can see the way I would go through the studs. Remove a section of drywall, chisel out a groove in the studs, and then run the wire, cover with a metal electrical plate, and replace the drywall. BTW, the inset image of the stud is from the side, with the stud facing left to right. Forgot to put that in the image.

My skills aren't great either. But maybe some of this discussion will help someone.

kool diagram! my idea is similar except the path i am taking will have the wiring from the fireplace wall outlet drop straight down (vertically) instead of horizontally away from the wall (& towards or behind the bookcases for me). in the basement below it will then run horizontally over towards the existing receptacle & vertically up again. hope that makes sense.

I just completed my project and used 2" PVC up and over to get behind where the panel is mounted. As far as the heat, PVC is not a problem. Think about it, if it gets hot enough to melt PVC, do you really think they would allow wood studs within a foot of the firebox? The firebox does a good job of insulating the heat, that's it's job.

While it may not be proper, I am running my power through an extension cord down the PVC pipe, into the basement and plugging it into a surge protector that I ran a 110V to. I can't imagine where you have room for a surge protector and outlet behind a plasma???

If you alread have power on the wall, check this out:

http://www.monstercable.com/power/productPagePower.asp?pin=1963&LastPage=Flat%20Screen%20Power

A little pricey, but it's pretty small and does the job.

Sometimes it is best to use Google to find answers. :)

Look at Step 10 (http://doityourself.com/electric/h2installelecwiring.htm)

That's what i was trying to say and draw...

Not a good idea to run power with out metal condo - first - it's not code in most places, second - metal condo will isolate power from interfering with your signal cables.

Just a note to people that have fireplaces with gas/fake logs - these types of fireplaces normally require an outlet to be properly mounted near them, albeit hidden. This means that at the time your home was built, an outlet was also professionally installed. I found my outlet below the fireplace. All you have to do is pull on the vented metal either below or above your fireplace to gain access.

I have a question and could not find it after much searching - sorry if it's been answered previously.

If my plasma television is mounted a few feet above my fireplace, will the heat that's generated by the fireplace affect anything with the tv? When I currently use the fireplace my tv gets extremely hot on the bottom. Additionally, I'm starting to see the dreaded 4:3 lines when I watch a 16:9 show - was wondering if the heat might be causing pixel issues.

Just a note to people that have fireplaces with gas/fake logs - these types of fireplaces normally require an outlet to be properly mounted near them, albeit hidden. This means that at the time your home was built, an outlet was also professionally installed. I found my outlet below the fireplace. All you have to do is pull on the vented metal either below or above your fireplace to gain access.

I have a question and could not find it after much searching - sorry if it's been answered previously.

If my plasma television is mounted a few feet above my fireplace, will the heat that's generated by the fireplace affect anything with the tv? When I currently use the fireplace my tv gets extremely hot on the bottom. Additionally, I'm starting to see the dreaded 4:3 lines when I watch a 16:9 show - was wondering if the heat might be causing pixel issues.

i know its been a while since this was asked & you may have alreay discovered this, but i wanted to resurrect this thread anyway because i'm nearing completion with my install.

but majord, u might want to check out this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8356355&highlight=heat+fireplace+plasma#post8356355

i know its been a while since this was asked & you may have alreay discovered this, but i wanted to resurrect this thread anyway because i'm nearing completion with my install.


Thanks kahlilj! I mounted my plasma above the fireplace (about 1 foot above) and have not had any problems. Although, I only run the fireplace for a few hours if I even use it at all; so my statement may not be applicable for folks in a colder region who use the fireplace often.

All this is getting too complicated.

Go ahead and run the horizontal conduit, since you've already tore open the walls. That's the hard part anyway. Just drill through the studs in whatever way is necessary to get the conduit in. You will not weaken them apreciably. Plumbers do it all the time for their big (2") pipe. If you are really concerned about the size of the holes, make several runs of smaller conduit, several inches apart. I've seen walls where the vertical studs have been cut all the way through, and not much was moving around.

The idea is to drill the holes as close to the center of the stud as possible. It's better, IMO, to make the wiring runs as short as possible, rather than worry about the studs being drilled. Choose the best route based on the shortest wire runs and on not getting too close to the firebox.

deep pockets, i am still learning about this myself. one thing i was informed of was, that the fireplace external wall does not get very hot. some electrical pvc i have seen (usually gray colored not the white for water service) is rated to 90°C which is ~194°F. the firebox does not reach that temp so i believe the pvc should provide adequate protection & no melting should occur. but i have also read that the maximum safe temp for pvc pipe is ~140°F. can someone verify this?

<links deleted as I could not post a reply with URLs in them per error message on reply submission>

hope this helps & does not confuse you too much. :)

Hi

This thread has been very useful. I have a similiar issue.

My plasma is mounted in a cubby hole (about 2' deep) over a fireplace. Currently my wires just run in plain sight (ugly, yes) from the back of the TV to the front of the mantle and down to a equipment on a corner table placed to the left of the fireplace.

My thought based on this thread was to duplicate your idea of running wires down a conduit pipe from the rear corner (dead space wrt fireplace box) of the cubby hole down to my crawl space. But I have the same concerns wrt high temp and heat that could melt the pipes/wires.

Also is there any concern the the high temperatures could distort the video signals in HDMI or component video cables and audio in speaker wires (I need to run a speaker wire for a center channel above the plasma).

Did you find a solution for the conduit pipe that would withstand the temperatures behind the fireplace and also be good to run A/V and perhaps power wires through? What did you end up using?

Also did you have to get special A/V or electrical power wires wrt the high temp/heat behind the fireplace? I could not access the URL for electrical PVC.

Thanks
Bob

PVC, whether sch 40 or sch 80 is good to about 140 deg F. CPVC is good to about 200. PVDF good to 280 deg F. These ratings only pertain to the materials resistance to failure under water pressure (their intended use), so they'll probably withstand melting to some higher degree. These ratings also have nothing to do with insulating properties. Just because a pipe is rated to 140 deg F, does not mean that the airspace within won't get that hot. PVC is a fairly good conductor over time as evident by putting your hand on a PVC hot water pipe. It will feel warm if not hot.

I am ready to buy a plasma and put it on top of fireplace -
Any advice\pictures ?

Don't shoot the messenger:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/archive/index.php/t-253172.html :D

I've had my plasma over my wood burning fireplace for almost 2 years with no problems. The PVC will not get too hot and melt. If that was the case, would not the wood studs behind the fireplace be in danger of possibly going up? The only minor complaint that I have is that the TV is a little higher up than I care for. But, buy a tilting mount, tilt it down a little, and you get used to it.

Hi

This thread has been very useful. I have a similiar issue.

My plasma is mounted in a cubby hole (about 2' deep) over a fireplace. Currently my wires just run in plain sight (ugly, yes) from the back of the TV to the front of the mantle and down to a equipment on a corner table placed to the left of the fireplace.

My thought based on this thread was to duplicate your idea of running wires down a conduit pipe from the rear corner (dead space wrt fireplace box) of the cubby hole down to my crawl space. But I have the same concerns wrt high temp and heat that could melt the pipes/wires.

Also is there any concern the the high temperatures could distort the video signals in HDMI or component video cables and audio in speaker wires (I need to run a speaker wire for a center channel above the plasma).

Did you find a solution for the conduit pipe that would withstand the temperatures behind the fireplace and also be good to run A/V and perhaps power wires through? What did you end up using?

Also did you have to get special A/V or electrical power wires wrt the high temp/heat behind the fireplace? I could not access the URL for electrical PVC.

Thanks
Bob


bob,
the temps have not been a concern with me because we really don't use the fireplace much (it's a gas log insert). i ended up using the blue flexible conduit & it has worked perfectly. easy to pull my cables thru & flexible enough to route suitably behind the wall & down thru the flooring.

i agree with themase about heat not being a great concern in this location. using the flexible conduit ensured that my cables would not get anywhere near the firebox & be at risk for high temps.

as for hi temp wiring, i did not use any special wiring or cables. for power wire i used the standard (14/3?) power wire that is used for home construction.

kahlil

Thanks everyone. I will try this out. I have to determine answers, within the next few weeks, for other issues for the HT setup before doing the actual work.

Bob

I am ready to buy a plasma and put it on top of fireplace - but how to hide wiring ? I need to go about 4 feet up and 4 feet horizontally. I think i better run 1.5 inch condo to it - to future-proof it. I can't go straight down from Plasma into basement - because this is where firebox is. But if i go horizontally first - I will have to cut several studs and i am afraid it will weaken my wall.

Should i just run condo outside of the house ? But it may look ugly...

Any advice\pictures ?

From the basement find the location and if it is not a load baring joist drill a whole through the joist. Then drop the wires inside your wall. Most of the time you only have 1 stud you need to go through at the bottom of the upstairs aka top of the ceiling.

This advise is too late for the OP, but I can't let this go without commenting on this for future readers. I know that a lot of people want to install a flat screen tv over the fireplace because it fits their furniture well. I have installed way too many tv's and my advise to anyone who wants to do this is to consider using the wall OPPOSITE the fireplace instead. Especially if you're building a new house. This makes for a really nice furniture setup, leaves the screen at the ideal height, and leaves the fireplace mantle open for pictures, candles, and other girly stuff ;-). Seriously, if that wall is open, it makes for a great setup.