Flat Panel over Fireplace - Discomforting?? - Page 3

Sony XBR5 over my fireplace.

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Where's the wires Bullet94 ??????

There is an electrical outlet right behind the TV (tilt mount for the TV). The fireplace is a direct vent fireplace. I ran 2 pvc pipes from the rear of the TV to the bottom corners of the fireplace (fireplace built into my family room by approx. 2.5'). Ran the wires (HDMI, comp., etc) through the pvc pipes to connect the TV and equipment (wires were placed behind the baseboard going to the cable box, DVD, etc.).

Nice install. I am looking at options to install on my fireplace. Brick would be easier but I am dealing with rock. Any suggestions??

I've installed on rock fireplaces before. If it's fake rock most likely it's still a wood framed wall behind the stone. Here is the process for fake stone fireplace.

1) Locate a stone about where the AV cables will plug into the back of the TV. Remove this rock and wire mesh (if fake rock) behind the stone exposing the drywall. Drill a 1" to 2" hole into the wall at this location to bring the AV cables and electrical out. Keep this rock if you ever decide to remove the TV.

2) Place a coat hanger or measuring tape into the hole locating the studs to the left and right. On the outside mark the stud locations on grout lines and drill starter holes for the mount. Now using a mount with long enough lag screws (probably not the ones that come with the mount) bolt the mount back plate to the stone face (keep it even and level).

3) Run your AV wires and electrical from side wall location into fireplace. Be careful they do not touch the fire box or vent pipes. Use a heavy duty extension cord if necessary to run power. Hang TV and enjoy!

Thanks for the info VideoNavi.

I'm moving into a new home and my wife was very adamant of getting stone from the floor to the ceiling. Had to succumb to that so that i could get a 52 inch lcd.

I just bought the Toshiba 52LX177

I was able to get the prewiring done by the electrician but wondered how I would be able to get the mount up.

I want to try and do this myself, both from experience and saving a bit of money (I want to plan to do it, but may get someone to get it done). Also I want to try and get as much info to make sure that even if I get it done, the guy does the job the right way.

The information you provided has given me a good jump start.

I currently have access to house before the stone goes in (builder states that he cannot leave a gap for the mount to come in as the home would not pass inspection and he will not let me put up the mount first.

I'm have pictures of the wall before the sheetrock went up and will go in with a stud finder and draw a sketch of the stud layout.

Do you recommend anything before the masonry team comes in and put's up the stone.

Bullet94, nice install can you post some pictures of the mount between the stone and the TV

Instead of anchoring the TV mount to the brick/mortar, I furred out two 2 by 4 pieces and screwed them into the framing of the fireplace. Used cultured stone on the entire fireplace (floor to ceiling) and bricked around the two furred out 2 by 4 pieces. Used several large lag bolts and attached the TV mount through the furred out 2 by 4 pieces and then into the framing of the fireplace (if you know where you want the TV, asked the guy why you could not fur out some 2 by 4s and have the masonary team stone around the 2 by 4 pieces, make sure the 2 by 4s are in there solid, then you could lag bolt the mount into the 2 by 4s and framing). The TV mount (which is a tilt model) is in there solid. The TV hides the furred out 2 by 4 pieces and the TV mount. Hope this helped a little. I will try to get some pictures like you asked, but got to get some friends over to take the TV down and then snap some pictures.

Bullet94, got that and will try to do something similar.

Take your time on the pictures and it will be great if you can. However, don't go out of your way for that.

I'm going to go for a canitliever mount. Either the omnimount UCL-X or a costco model Simplicity 30-55" Universal Flat Panel TV Mount.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2
Was also looking @ this mount as a start to my mounting research.
I have a ~97 lbs. Samsung Plasma 5054.

Would this mount be sufficed? Or should i go with something with more weight capacity?
Or spreaded over more studs? Suggestions are welcomed. TIA.

There's a high end Audio/Visual store in San Antonio, Texas named Bjorn's.

They have many rooms in the store with different set-ups. The first time I was in there, I went in to one of the rooms and noticed there was a plasma mounted above a fireplace.

I asked the salesman about it and that I had heard it's not ideal to do that.

His response: This is the "don't do it room". Everything in here is set up wrong so that customers can see why things shouldn't be done that way.


Sure, sometimes you can't avoid it, but if given ANY other option, don't mount above a fireplace (or high on the wall). There's shots in this thread of members that had other options and mounted it there anyway (and I have neighbors that have done the same - cause they think it looks cool). It's not a painting. It's a TV. You can't sit down and watch a 2.5 - 3 hour movie in comfort with a TV that high, no matter how hard members try to justify it.

I would have to disagree with your statement. I researched the issue about a TV over the fireplace and as long as you follow the correct guidelines, there should be no problems. It is a matter of taste mounting a TV over the fireplace, and if people don't like it, they don't have to do it. So, this so called salesman from the "high end Audio/Visual" store Bjorn's has to be a clown if he made the statement he "heard" that it is not ideal to do that. I "hear" a lot of things too, but if I don't "know" about them I wouldn't be stupid enough to make these type of comments. Also, Bjorn's has to be a joke if there is a "don't do it room" and "everything in here is set up wrong so that customers can see why things shouldn't be done that way." Yes, I think my TV looks "cool" over my fireplace, and yes, I can justify it is comfortable to watch my TV for several hours, even longer if I wish. I good tilt mount always helps too.

That's your privilege.


So, if you had a brand new room to work with that you could design any way you wanted, you'd still choose to put a fireplace in the middle of the wall and have a TV hanging above it? Or would you choose a corner fireplace (or no fireplace at all) and a TV at the appropriate height? I think the vast majority would choose the latter. It's all about compromises. No need to defend the compromises you made. No harm in admitting your set-up isn't ideal or that you wished you could do things differently.


Hopefully you paid more attention during your research on where to place a TV, because the salesman never said any such thing. Maybe in your research, your comprehension and understanding were equally flawed.


Nope, not a joke. In the last year they've been featured in both Sound and Vision and Home Theater magazine. They're very reputable. It's only natural though to strike out and those who don't share your beliefs, so I understand your desire to lash out at them.


For some of us, there's more important things.

My wife and I spent the weekend looking at some (relatively) expensive model homes. It looks like builders know people want to install HT systems ,but said builders don't seem to have clue in what to provide
1) Almost all of them take up an entire wall with a fireplace - in fact, it's almost impossible to buy a new home without them.
2) All have power and cable outlets over the mantel - some have rear speaker runs to the opposite wall. None seemed to have front speaker runs.
3) One home had a nice built-in cabinet for AV equipment, but it was only big enough for 42 " FP.

Your speaking to the choir. I work for one of those said builders.

Yep, when we built our home 3 years ago, there were several models we had to pass on just for that reason.

Since they're custom builders, most would move the fireplace for us. The problem is that a lot of the living rooms had a wall of windows and the rest of the room is open (to the kitchen, foyer, etc.). So, there's nowhere to move it to. I could do without the fireplace, but even in Texas it'd kill you on resale not to have one. Finally found the perfect house with a big enough wall that could accommodate a fireplace and a niche big enough for a 70"+ TV. Sold.

There were a lot of things we were looking for in a home, but there were 3 things that were deal breakers: Room in the LR for a big screen TV (not above a fireplace), Room for a dedicated HT, 3+ car garage.

Maybe if folks stopped buying those homes (which will be harder to resell too as more of the public gets educated on these things), builders would stop building them.

I bet there are buddy.

I have a solution in the works but it is going to be completely homemade.

I bought two 36" rails (3/4" solid polished steel) and linear bearings (Thomson SBP-12-OPN) on EBay for this purpose. Each bearing is rated for about 500lbs and there will be four of them. I'll be getting the 52" Sony XBR in about a month and will be attaching it above the fireplace but I will counterweight it and it will slide down in front of the fireplace most of the time since we hardly ever have a fire. The center will be at about 71" up from the floor when raised and when fully lowered it will be at about 45" up from the floor. I have drawn this up in Autocad. I've bought the bearings, slides, four heavy duty pullleys and 100' of aircraft cable on EBay all for no more than $150. I'm quite handy and don't recommend this kind of thing to anybody unsure of their abilities. I haven't worked out all of the details but I will have some sort of removable mantle section so that when we do raise the TV up and have a fire there will be something under the TV to deflect the warm air. I plan on mounting the center speaker onto the top of the TV (to the bracket frame I will make) and the rails will be mounted vertically via that frame to the back of the TV. The bearings will be mounted fixed on the wall so that all parts of this assembly will allways be concealed by the TV.

Good Luck

SteveD

Same here. In the end it just doesn't make much sense to not have the silly thing when not having it significantly impacts the resale of your most expensive purchase. Over the fireplace the plasma went!

Ok, I'm weighing the pros and cons of mounting a LCD over my fireplace.

I checked the temperature with a roaring fire, and after several hours the wall was still cool to the touch.

Here's where I'm looking to put it: (Pardon the clutter, please.)

The paint in the room is much better than it looks in the image above. The flash from the camera is reflecting off the built-ins.

The big brown thing is a cardboard mockup of a 52" LCD. (Toshiba 52LX177 to be precise.)

I'd use the built-in on the right as an equipment cabinet.

This would really help the layout of the room. We'd replace the couch & loveseat (which are in dire need of replacing) with a reclining sectional. At a 10' viewing distance, this frees up a lot of area in the back of the room.

Here's the left wall, where the 'old' 32" SDTV is now.



On the right (North) wall, there are two north facing windows.


My default plan is to put the new 52" LCD on the wall where the old 32" is now. The major flaw with this is that there can be some reflections from the windows during the day, and from the lamps in the evening. I believe the 52LX177 has a matte screen, so maybe this won't matter.

Issues:
I don't have a good place to put a center channel speaker. I have a nice one now and it's too deep to set on the mantle.
I'm worried about the height. I'll give it a good test this evening and see if it feels comfortable.

Dalesd,

Excellent idea to use an actual mock up to try it out. I did the same thing and it saved me a LOT of grief, because we realized that while it would work, unfortunately it would not result in the most effective/pleasing/best visual set up.

I would like to present a couple of concerns that you might have already considered. If you have, forgive me. Having been there, these are things that can often be taken for granted. Again, I offer these thoughts only to try and prevent Mr. Murphy of Murphy's law from killing a beautiful thing.

1- Noticing the large blackened area (just below the mantel) above the hearth opening, can you guarantee that you will not experience that again. If not, ouuuuuuuuuuuuuucch.

2- Your comment about the center channel speaker not fitting above the mantel also is something to be wary of.

3- Are your speakers L/R matched to your center channel? If so, then are you considering replacing them all since your planned placement over the fireplace might preclude you retaining the current cc?

4- Where will the FST L/R that are shown be placed if you do hang the plasma over the FP?

5- What kind of duct work are you planning to bring power for the plasma and for the speaker wires, cables, other connectors to be housed in. How will you access them? How will you run them from the cabinet? Will the cabinet containing the components have sufficient air flow and room for the component wires to be attached and the doors closed?

6- What kind of hanger (Tilt, Swivel, Tilt/swivel, etc) are you planning on using for the Plasma? Many do not consider that working with a 52" is a HEAVY thing and decent/reasonable access to the connections in the rear after it is up is EXTREMELY important. Will you be able to attach the hanger to studs as the specs designate? Do you have that clearance?

7- Is your fireplace a zero-clearance so that the heat of the exhaust chamber will not impact on the cabling? Along the same line, will you be able to do work there without interfering with the flue itself as sometimes the actual firebox metal (on top of the fire box inside of the burn area) extends up at an angel that precludes your being able to work there at all.

Not trying to rain on the parade. Just offering comments from having been there.

Silly as this may sound. Many of the same comments I raised also apply to the use of the wall where your current crt is.

Good luck. Hope you have it all planned out before you bring home the unit and realize that you have overlooked something. When all is said and done, be able to SMILE - BIG TIME.

..Mark

Excellent questions, Mark. Some of them I have thought through, some I haven't. I have some more homework to do. Thanks.

Awesome! Can I ask you where you got that media rack on the left of the fireplace?

I had nowhere else to place my 32" tv, so I wrapped my fireplace and costructed side bookcases with lower drawers and cabinets. Still under construction. when completed i will replace the 32 with a 42.
My fp is 53" off the floor I view it approx 8' to 10 ' away with out any discomfort. the tv mount does tilt. I also like the look and storage area I gained for my books and dvd collection.

I've wall mounted three PDPs now. Simply as cake.

This picture is my main display (i.e. primary daily use) and it is mounted, as you can see, above the fireplace. We sit several feet away and it is perfectly comfortable. People talk about the correct way to do things and blah, blah, blah...but everyone has different preferences. That isn't to say that there isn't a preferable way or even a correct way, but when it comes to enjoying your own display you might as well have things the way you want them (even if it goes against expert opinion).

If you want my opinion, getting the sound right in a large room (or any room) is much more difficult then getting the display the way you like it.

Where are you going to put those wires?

this project is still under construction. the cables are longer than I will need. they will be shortened when the project is complete. then all cables will be routed upwards behind a new 42" fp tv . the sat receiver will sit on the top of the overmantle, which is not completed. the overmantle and side bookcase cabinets will receive additional crown molding. then the receiver and all cables will be completely concealed.

Sounds really nice. Just an additional thought/question:
When you "shorten" the cables, will you be leaving sufficient slack so that if you have to either pull out the components for the cabinets or temporarily put the plasma on the ground if needed?

If you "shorten" the cables to just make it fit, you might be leaving yourself open for some angst down the road.

If you have already planned for this, good thinking and pardon the asking of it.

..Mark

When I built my new HT room addition, I opted to have a corner fireplace rather than a center one for warranty reasons.

Every instruction manual I ever read stated X clearances on all sides and back.
3 Foot minimum distance from any heat source.

Even if you incorporate a low speed fan unit behind the unit, which would be my recommendation, warranties will probably still be voided by a repair person. Think about it, you could make more money if the unit was not warrantied and this setup over a fireplace gives you very legal reasons to void it.

That and the fact heat kills electronics which is common sense known.

thanks for the suggestion.
But, yes whenever I make a cable run I always leave additional cable slack.
A good deal of the cabling seen in the photo will be eliminated shortly.

Wed of this coming week I am having a DN VIP722 HD receiver installed which has an HDMI port.That will eliminate 2 cables. Also my dvd player is presently connected via component....that will eliminate 4 cables, as it also has an HDMI port. The SD receiver I now have will be retired. It does not have HDMI only has comp, RCA, Svideo, jacks.

I also ran 2 dedicated 110 vac lines with duplex receptacles, and an RJ 11, which you can't see behind the side legs of the overmantle. I constructed the complete wall cabinetry so it can be removed for modification if ever with out injuring any it. Also should I sell my home, a prospective buyer may disapprove of it, benig it is in the living room.

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Here is another photo. As you can see my living room is upside down. I have put off doing anymore work until I purchase the upcoming Toshiba 42" Regza X550 or 450 series.