Cut a channel into chimney breast

[apj101]

Hi guys im monting a plasma above my fireplace into the chimney breast and need to hide the cables.
Can i cut a groove in the brick to lay in some trunking and them plaster/fill over it.
Are chimneys normally 1 brick thick, will i be able to cut deep enough, the trunking will be about 4-5cm diameter

Thanks guys

 

[breezer]

please tell me the fire place is empty

 

[Lectrician]

Most plasma/LCD tv's mention at the start of the manual that the gaurantee is void if mounted above a fire place!

Shame, as it is the perfect spot in most rooms!

 

[breezer]

That's why i said please tell me the fire place is empty

 

[apj101]

The fireplace is not empty, its a real working open fire which i probably use once a month.
Its not an issue to put plasmas above working wood fires, I've tested the heat point, provided it stays below 90*F it is totally fine. And the heat can be well higher that 90*F if the TV is off. On the electronics side Im fine and certain its fine to place it there.

But can i chisel into the brick to hide the cables like i said

 

[bernardgreen]

The fireplace is not empty, its a real working open fire which i probably use once a month.
On the electronics side Im fine and certain its fine to place it there.

The smoke from the fire will have enough carbon particles to give a very high risk of short circuits between tracks on the PCBs in the TV.

There will also be other contaminents from the smoke that will corrode the joints of surface mounted components. ( components mounted with out holes in the PCB ).

Any electronic equipment subjected to smoke, even very diluted smoke, is at risk of failure.

Sorry but the manufactures make that statement about not over a fire place for a very good reason.

 

[apj101]

well i guess ill just never use it anymore, which is a shame its nice to have it on sometimes in the winter....im sure i can get over it though for the effect of having the plasma on the wall
provided someone can let me know about chiselling into the chimney

 

[bernardgreen]

With rising fuel costs I would keep the open fire and move TV elsewhere.

A log fire and toast made the old way is well worth it.

And essential during a power cut in the middle of a cold winter's day.

 

[apj101]

its a london flat with a bay windows (ie small) there is no where else for it to go. It has to go there
Can i chisel a groove in the breast?

 

[bernardgreen]

Can i chisel a groove in the breast?

I would not advise it as the hammering could loosen brickwork in other parts of the chimney. If it is only one brick thick then there is a significant risk that the brick being chiselled will break loose.

 

[ColJack]

everyone is skirting round the question...

you neglect to mention what the fireplace is made of..

it may very well be engineering brick being a fire place and will be as hard as iron to chisel out..

have you already bought the plasma? if not then go for a projector and put the screen up there instead...

as for the fire, if it was for ambience only then just get a dvd of a roaring log fire and play it on the plasma you could also get a tropical island for the summer, leaves blowing in the breeze for autumn and so on.. maybe even a fish tank...

 

[stevesey]

maybe even a fish tank...

Now if you did mount a fish tank inside a 28/32in TV in place of the CRT this would be a great prop for a practical joke. I can imagine getting people to watch this "realistic" DVD (to show how good HDTV is perhaps). Then opening the top and doing the carrot/goldfish eating stunt. Idea for Mr Beadle perhaps (probably been done).


Crossed my mind - how good is the fire place at ensuring the smoke goes up the chimney - obviously needs to be good enough to avoid any physical blackening of the chimney breast (and TV/screen). If so how much higher is the level of contaminents above the fire place compared with the rest of the room, heat rises so it must be more, but how much? And what's a TV next to the fireplace being subjected to?

Didn't someone mention 25% the other day in terms of channel depth limits? In which case 4-5 cm is out anyway if it's single brick.

 

[Trazor]

No one will give you a definitive answer on cutting the necessary channel in your chimney.

Depends on the type of brick used and how well it is constructed, as said before engineering bricks will be a nightmare. Someone would need to inspect it before giving advice.

Personally I would use surface mounts, and blend it in when you decorate. The run will be quite small above your screen.

 

[apj101]

its made of brick, not sure if its double brick or not....the house is about 120 years old.


plasma is bought, it was a present and has to go on that wall....how the hell can i hide the wires grrrrrr

 

[ColJack]

i always wondered...

when they have those bricks with 3 holes in them, why can they not be made so the holes line up when laid? this would make it ideal to put a conduit down to run the cables in the walls..

if they know the locations of sockets and light switches they could even use special "half bricks" to put the back boxes into whilst building the wall..

if ever i get enough cash to build my own house from dirt to smoke then I'm gonna look into it..

i might even send my ideas to a brick maker and see if they go for it.. i could make millions..


as for hiding the wires, you could always get some of those "twigs in a vase" things and stick that in front of them to hide them..