Mounting flat screen TV on wall above fireplace

[stockdale]

Hi all,

I plan to mount a flat screen TV on my wall just above my fireplace, and have found conflicting information on the web as to whether this is possible or not, so I hope you can advise me on this.

I own a flat in which a small gas fired fireplace sits in the living room, and ideally I would like to put a TV above it, but also do not want my wall to collapse as I suspect there must be an empty gap behind it to let the air flow from the fireplace to the outside.

Is it safe to mount a 46' TV above a fireplace without any risk of damage to the wall?

All feedback welcome!

Many thanks.

 

[Porque223]

Excessive temperature at the proposed TV location will shorten its life.

 

[stockdale]

And good point about the temperature!

I barely use the fireplace though, so I don't think it will be a problem.

My main concern is the wall: do you think it will hold the TV?

 

[ChrisFrost]

...and have found conflicting information on the web as to whether this is possible or not

Yeah, well it doesn't take much to find every opinion possible in the spectrum. Trouble is, what works (or doesn't) for one is no template for the rest of us.

...I own a flat in which a small gas fired fireplace sits in the living room, and ideally I would like to put a TV above it, but also do not want my wall to collapse as I suspect there must be an empty gap behind it to let the air flow from the fireplace to the outside.

One would have to be incredibly ham fisted to destroy a wall in the process of hanging a TV, so let's not be so melodramatic. However, if you're not confident about what you're doing then ask someone to help who actually knows what they're doing (rather than just says they know) or pay for a professional install. This latter option makes good sense if you aren't a natural DIYer and in doing your own install you'll need to buy tools that you're unlikely to use again in the future.

If you are a competent DIYer then you'll already have worked out what the wall is made from and so chosen an appropriate method whether it's a brick or stud wall.

For brick you'll also have worked out that bricks have a certain depth and so logically you've also concluded that if you don't drill too deep then you can keep the fixings contained in the the brick without risk to any flue or liner in the chimney cavity.

For stud walls you'll have an idea of the timber size and positioning of the battens so you'll know not to use anything much longer than a 2" screw for each fixing point.

 

[ericmark]

We clearly have no idea of how your wall and flue is built. In my house we have a flue brick which is quite close to the surface and there is no way I could hang a TV from the plaster which covers that brick. However using a TV bracket with an arm I could drill the wall to the side of the flue brick and still have the TV centre above the fire.

My sons house has plaster board on all walls mainly to reduce noise hanging a TV from the plaster board would also be a problem and long bolts would be required and spacers so it was mounted on the brick behind the plaster board rather than just on the board.

So since we have no idea of what type of flue you have or what type of walls you have or how you intend to mount the frame we could not answer your question.

I have in two bedrooms brackets on the wall for TV's which will take my weight but that does not mean they will in all houses.

When you say flat screen what do you mean? I have a flat screen monitor which is still a cathode ray tube but many would think a flat screen refers to LED or Plasma but really that's not really the case. Also size does matter and a 14 inch LED TV is quite light but a 42 inch TV is rather heavy and add functions like replay with hard drives built in and they can be very heavy. There are TV's which are nearly wireless where only the monitor part goes on wall and there is a box with all the TV bits in so VCR, hard drive/DVD, Blueray and all the other stuff we connect to out TV does not directly connect to the monitor.

However my TV has all the ports at the back of the single unit and so has a host of wires connecting to it. Sky, blueray, Harddrive/DVD and even the PC plus of course the power cable and aerial lead so it would require quite a large lump of trunking to take these cables if wall mounted.

 

[daxi]

Brick walls come in four or 9 inch multiples, because that is the size of a bricks & almost all block alternatives also come in 4 inch widths too.So assuming you house has bricks between flue & room, then it's probably four inches thick where the flue is & will have a pier of at least one nine inch stretcher (brick length 9 inches.) And one header (brick end 4 inches.) either side of the flue to support the chimney.
However some older properties may be built of other materials, so the answer to.."Will the wall supports it", is going to depend upon what it is built of & how deep you intend to drill.
Most internal walls in a house will also be 4 inches if built of bricks or blocks & they normally support a TV, however my main concern would be the fact that the chimney is used for a gas fire. It should be lined, but I would feel very uncomfortable suggesting it's a great idea...

 

[ChrisFrost]

When you say flat screen what do you mean? I have a flat screen monitor which is still a cathode ray tube but many would think a flat screen refers to LED or Plasma but really that's not really the case.

Now come on ericmark. That's just a little too pedantic, don't you think? The guy is talking about his living room. Do you really think he plans to mount a 32" CRT FST on a wall bracket? lol

Nor would (or should) anybody with sense mount anything heavier than the average picture off fixings secured only to a plasterboard wall. But then again, in the world if DIY stranger things have happened.

Good points about the cabling though.

 

[ellal]

My main concern is the wall: do you think it will hold the TV?

If the fireplace is even of average height, my main concern would be neck ache caused by the viewing angle!

 

[dhutch]

Excessive temperature at the proposed TV location will shorten its life.

This would certainly be worry.
- I dont really know what the temperature in the location would get to.
- Or what the TV is likely to be able to stand.
- If not using the TV when the fire was on would help.


Daniel

 

[kbdiy]

My main concern is the wall: do you think it will hold the TV?

If the fireplace is even of average height, my main concern would be neck ache caused by the viewing angle!

Totally agree. Unless the room is especially wide then the viewing angle becomes uncomfortable and the number of wires makes it look hideous.

Stick to a normal stand.

 

[stockdale]

I certainly got a lot of great feedback from you all, so thanks for taking the time to reply.

This certainly gives me a lot of food for thoughts, thanks again!

 

[phatboy]

I know a lot of people who have fitted TV's above their fireplaces. Quite a few I told it wasn't a good idea in my opinion, as it was way to high.

Few weeks / months later they were either moving it, or just regretting it!

TV floor stands are a certain height for a good reason!

 

[ericmark]

I agree unlikely cathode ray tube TV but point is we don't know the weight.

The flue brick in my house is just covered in plaster so max depth is around 1/2 an inch clearly not enough to anchor a TV to. To state brick is 4 inches thick is only valid where flue brick is not used. Since no information on flue construction or wall construction or even weight of TV it is impossible to answer question.

 

[ChrisFrost]

I agree unlikely cathode ray tube TV but point is we don't know the weight.

True. But if you read the post you'll see that he says it's a 46" flatscreen, so it's perfectly reasonable to make some logical deductions: The size rules out a CRT. So the heaviest TV would be a plasma which means a weight of approx 26~30kg. These have fairly wide spaced mounting holes so any bracket will span more than a brick's worth. Chances are though it's LED/LCD which means lower weight (<15kg). At that size I would be very surprised if the the mounting point was anything less than VESA 400, so again a mounting bracket can be chosen with a relatively large backplate.

The flue brick in my house is just covered in plaster so max depth is around 1/2 an inch clearly not enough to anchor a TV to. To state brick is 4 inches thick is only valid where flue brick is not used. Since no information on flue construction or wall construction or even weight of TV it is impossible to answer question.

I have no idea what you mean by flue brick. Neither has Google, come to that. There are air bricks (which you wouldn't have in a properly constructed chimney), and there are flue liners made from fire clay or from ducting. It's not my area of expertise of course, but either way it seems like building regs state that neither brick or timber framed chimney breasts would have the flue liner directly below plaster level. There's always either at least a brick's depth or an air gap for stud wall. The wall might get warm when the fire's on but that doesn't mean that the flue liner is directly below the plaster.

Either way, mounting a TV over a fireplace isn't that complicated a job for someone who has an understanding and appreciation of the building methods used in the chimney breast construct. That is the challenge though for a novice. If in doubt get a Pro in.

 

[dhutch]

I know a lot of people who have fitted TV's above their fireplaces. Quite a few I told it wasn't a good idea in my opinion, as it was way to high.

Few weeks / months later they were either moving it, or just regretting it!

That said, I acquired a (50" plasma) TV mount above the (boarded over) fireplace of my house, at about the right height to view it while standing up, and while it looks like it wouldn't work its actually very watchable, as the sofa (also acquired with the house) is a big soft leather affair and you just slouch into it till your at the right angle.

I'm looking at moving it and or replacing it, but only really because to my mind it unnecessarily dominates the room for the amount I watch it and im thinking of re opening the fire place.

It was also put up by a totally idiot, using a mix of random screws/bolts/etc and not very many at that, must be a good 30kg, and hasnt fallen down yet, by miracle or otherwise.


Daniel