Between a TV, a wall and a hard place

May 2, 2006 2:01 PM

Turns out my dream of mounting my soon to be bought LCD TV into the wall is a no go, as the wall is directly over my fireplace and apparently THAT will cause damage to the cables. So I'm looking for the tallest thinnest credenza possible to mount it on. I'd build it myself, but a history of collapsed childhood treehouses seems to argue against that. Any ideas?
posted by rileyray3000 to home & garden (9 comments total)

Could you elaborate on the specific issue with hanging the tv over the fireplace?

I'm not really seeing yet why this would be an issue.
posted by davey_darling at 2:10 PM on May 2, 2006

"Could you elaborate on the specific issue with hanging the tv over the fireplace?"
Fireplaces make heat, (heat rises) nice expensive tv above fireplace goes above operating temperature and cooks.
I see this all the time in magazines and it is a bad idea (unless you Never use that fireplace). Would you put your PC on the radiator in winter? I install fireplaces and get this question all the time.
posted by blink_left at 2:34 PM on May 2, 2006

How about the ceiling mounts, minimal floor stands or other ideas here?
posted by Fins at 2:48 PM on May 2, 2006

its bad, yeah, but it can be done. my friend has his sharp 45" lcd mounted above the fireplace and he's had no problems with it.
posted by joeblough at 3:04 PM on May 2, 2006

I too was concerned about heat damage when I started researching the purchase of my Plasma TV. One article I read said it's not a problem as long as the wall doesn't get too hot. It recommended taping a thermometer to the wall and setting a good fire to see how hot the wall actually got. I can't remember what the temperature guidelines were, but in my case, I'm not actually on the wall. I was also prepared to install fans behind the TV in order to help with the ventilation if necessary, but it hasn't become an issue for me. In regards to the cabling, mine goes through the wall alongside the fireplace into a closet that sits behind the fireplace.

I'm not sure if an LCD is more prone to problems than a Plasma, but I've haven't had any problems with my setup.
One thing that's probably helping is that I built a box-shelf mantle to go above the fireplace for the TV to sit on which helps the heat issue by providing a dam for the rising air. Also, my fireplace has a blower vent built into it that actually pushes the heat out so it doesn't just rise up the wall.

As always, YMMV, but I'd do some more due diligence before I wrote off the possibility.
posted by friezer at 4:39 PM on May 2, 2006

There's this (embedded video). And while it's not the on the web yet, there's another solution that's much thinner: plasma TV on one side, original framed artwork, mirror or panel on the other.

But like many of the above comments point out, make sure the niche above your fireplace is well insulated so that you don't melt your brand new TV. Check with a builder to be sure.

I would also make sure you'll be satisfied with the TV's height above the fireplace. This is less of an issue with larger rooms, but the smaller the room and the higher the TV, the further you'll need to tilt your head.

Full disclosure: I am biased towards this solution because I work full time at this company and firmly believe that it's the shizzle.
posted by Tacodog at 6:16 PM on May 2, 2006

I researched this a couple years ago so I forget the actual datapoints, but if you let a fire go for a while and put a thermometer above your fireplace where you want to mount it, I think the max temp was 95 or so degrees F. I remember running this test when I moved into my home last year and I went ahead and mounted my small plasma tv above it with no troubles at all. We used to run the gas fireplace a lot in the winter and the wall above never heated up much.
posted by mathowie at 10:34 AM on May 3, 2006

Actually I'm wondering if anyone sells a really tall credenza where the fireplace could just stick out the bottom. Kind of like a self contained mantel
posted by rileyray3000 at 2:06 PM on May 3, 2006

An alternative (probably of no interest to you, but it's what I would do) would be to buy a projector instead. This solves the heat issue (since all you need is a clear light-toned or white area on the wall, be it removeable or permanent), plus you get a much MUCH larger screen (eg several yards diagonal). The drawback is that you'll need to draw the curtains when viewing during sunlit hours.
posted by -harlequin- at 2:28 PM on May 3, 2006