Wanting a flat panel television above the fireplace

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Abouthadit

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Tracy's Pics 041.jpg

Trying to see if pictures downloaded ....
If so questions to follow :D
 

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I don't know what your question is, but, I love your fireplace, it is very pretty. :)
 

Abouthadit

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First off sorry for the pic being so big !
Ok trying to post up next picture, hope it not too small ???

Ok we removed the rock /drywall and now looking at frame work and an open cavity with fireplace metal flue . Inside the garage it is boxed out abit for the fireplace.
The drywall came off in chunks with the rock/concrete.

Can we simply re drywall to the edge of the fireplace , then put up a mantel ? or does there need to be other material put up ???

We are going to have a flat panel tv mounted up above the fireplace .. And if we ever do have another fire in the fireplace it will only be a duraflame log...

I thought I could move the 5 short studs back enough to nail in about 1/3 sheet of 3/4 in plywood , add insulation where I could , then have the drywall installed.
So when its all down I'll have a solid area to bolt the tv mount to , instead of like most tv mounts you get one stud and have to molly-screw the other side ...

Hope I'm making since here ? Tracy's Pics 0011.jpg


The only insulation that was there were between the the studs I'm talking about wanting to move back enough to nail in the plywood.
There was no insulation in back/sides of the flue . Can I put up some insulation around the inside walls where the metal baffle/reducer tapers down/up to the flue going up. I know I wouldn't put any insulation lower than that...

Thanks for any input
 
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hj

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My experience has been that they do NOT recommend mounting a TV over a fireplace, unless it will NEVER be used for a fire of any kind.
 
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BobL43

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My experience has been that they do NOT recommend mounting a TV over a fireplace, unless it will NEVER be used for a fire of any kind.
I agree, but if you can find an attractive fireplace hood/canopy, it can deflect the heat enough to "spill over" up far enough away from the TV (maybe). Personally, I would not do it, as flat panel large screen TVs are still rather expensive even with the prices having dropped. Nice look though.
 
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JohnfrWhipple

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First off, you have a load of questions and before you race off building your next project you need to hit the brakes and do some homework.

It appears to me that the stand offs to your fireplace have been removed or they are just so tiny I can not see them. Can you upload more pictures of the fireplace and the exact make and model. I'm looking for V Shaped pieces on the top, back and side of your fireplace. This make and model information will be on the lighter tag under the fireplace near the pilot lighter. Is that unit burning gas even? Might be an A vent or wood burning. ???

Once we have that we can then answer the drywall question. The insulation question and the rest.

I have been building fireplace features longer than I have showers and there is a lot of safe guards you can preform to achieve some safety points in regards to mounting a TV above the fireplace.

Drywall many times is not permitted above your fireplace, most units require 8"-24" of a non combustable material above and many require non combustable material 2"-6" on the sides but not all.

Each fireplace will have a specification for mantle project. This is key to observe and the safety of your home and TV will improve or reduce depending on how well you follow this information.

Do you have an end look in mind?

If you visit www.houzz.com you can browse through tons of examples.

JW
 
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BobL43

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First off, you have a load of questions and before you race off building your next project you need to hit the brakes and do some homework.

It appears to me that the stand offs to your fireplace have been removed or they are just so tiny I can not see them. Can you upload more pictures of the fireplace and the exact make and model. I'm looking for V Shaped pieces on the top, back and side of your fireplace. This make and model information will be on the lighter tag under the fireplace near the pilot lighter. Is that unit burning gas even? Might be an A vent or wood burning. ???

Once we have that we can then answer the drywall question. The insulation question and the rest.

I have been building fireplace features longer than I have showers and there is a lot of safe guards you can preform to achieve some safety points in regards to mounting a TV above the fireplace.

Drywall many times is not permitted above your fireplace, most units require 8"-24" of a non combustable material above and many require non combustable material 2"-6" on the sides but not all.

Each fireplace will have a specification for mantle project. This is key to observe and the safety of your home and TV will improve or reduce depending on how well you follow this information.

Do you have an end look in mind?

If you visit www.houzz.com you can browse through tons of examples.

JW

IF that heatilator fireplace is a zero clearance unit, are those standoffs still required? Just asking. Last Heatilator unit I installed was in 1973 and I surrounded it in masonry. with just some fiberglass blanketing it came with. That heatilator weighed a lot.
 

Abouthadit

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First off, you have a load of questions and before you race off building your next project you need to hit the brakes and do some homework.

It appears to me that the stand offs to your fireplace have been removed or they are just so tiny I can not see them. Can you upload more pictures of the fireplace and the exact make and model. I'm looking for V Shaped pieces on the top, back and side of your fireplace. This make and model information will be on the lighter tag under the fireplace near the pilot lighter. Is that unit burning gas even? Might be an A vent or wood burning. ???

Ok when we removed the rock the drywall came off with the rock what you see in the pictures is what was behind the rock ,the only thing I removed were 4 pieces of insulation between the header piece up top and the next horizontal 2x4 below it.
Make is a Heatilator wood burning only #'s that I could find were 479 #F360625 MARK 123 30380A on a tag riveted to the inside lip.
I went to their web site punched in the #'s and nothing came up.

Once we have that we can then answer the drywall question. The insulation question and the rest.

I have been building fireplace features longer than I have showers and there is a lot of safe guards you can preform to achieve some safety points in regards to mounting a TV above the fireplace.

Drywall many times is not permitted above your fireplace, most units require 8"-24" of a non combustable material above and many require non combustable material 2"-6" on the sides but not all.

I wasn't sure if I could have the drywall come up just to the outside of the metal frame of the fireplace ...?

Each fireplace will have a specification for mantle project. This is key to observe and the safety of your home and TV will improve or reduce depending on how well you follow this information.

I couldn't find anything on that from their website or ?

Do you have an end look in mind?

Basically , have it dry-walled with a mantel w/some type of tile ? around fireplace and have the TV mounted above..


If you visit www.houzz.com you can browse through tons of examples.

JW


I'll try to post up more pictures...
 

Abouthadit

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008.jpg010.JPG

Ok hopefully these will help more ??
I know on the flue pipe going up it has stickers on it saying Maintain A Min. 2in Clearance To Combustibles

I tried answering questions in your quote...

Sorry tried to delete one of the same pics didn't work ??
 

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Abouthadit

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IF that heatilator fireplace is a zero clearance unit, are those standoffs still required? Just asking. Last Heatilator unit I installed was in 1973 and I surrounded it in masonry. with just some fiberglass blanketing it came with. That heatilator weighed a lot.

I'm hoping this falls into that same category ??
 

JohnfrWhipple

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Wood framing can not be installed below these stand offs. Many units have them on the back and sides as well. Some times installers fail to install them so you need to find the origianl installation guide for use.

I looked quickly and found this guide but it is not the same unit.

http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/4072_137.pdf

Check out page 18 for a little basic information.

JW
 
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JohnfrWhipple

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View attachment 16502View attachment 16503

Ok hopefully these will help more ??
I know on the flue pipe going up it has stickers on it saying Maintain A Min. 2in Clearance To Combustibles

I tried answering questions in your quote...

Sorry tried to delete one of the same pics didn't work ??

You may be able to build a recess box for your tv mount if it can fit between those Jack studs. The two waffled pipes left and right are most likely the air intake vents and the center pipe just exhaust. You will need to keep combustables 2" off of that. We have built units where the back side is wrapped in concrete board for added safety.

Check out this fireplace. We just wrapped it up three months back.

It's new everything!
 
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Jimbo

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johnfr has obviously done this before, so I would pay attention. He astutely points out that there are more questions than answers right now, and you need to settle all that before you start pouring money in. Besides the question of exactly what flammable clearances YOUR fireplace and YOUR building code requires, there is still the TV. Given the price of these puppies, I would check the warranty provisions. And if you purchased an extened warranty, check those papers as well.

I view large electronics like a flat screen as non-repairable, meaning if anything goes wrong, the cost of a repair would be well over half the cost of an brand new unit. I do purchase the 3 year warranty on these. I generally DON"T do extended warranties. I self-insure on appliances, etc. But on big screens and computers, I do. Not everyone would agree.

ANYWAY, back to the TV. They do have specs about how close to the ceiling it can be mounted, and in general are concerned about heat. Check it out.\
 

Jadnashua

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My sister had her plasma TV installed above the fireplace, and personally, I find it VERY annoying. People just don't like to look up for long periods of time - it's not in our nature or anatomy! While it might seem to be a good place for it (heat excepted), personally, I'd find another.
 

JohnfrWhipple

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As far as a perfect viewing angle the TV above the fireplace is less than ideal like Jim mentions but does make for a single feature point in a room. I have never had a TV fail on one of my projects but we take a lot of care planning this out. Often we incorporate a heat escape of sorts within the design to allow heat to exit the recessed niche. Often we use safe and sound insulation and cement board to further block the heat.

Fireplaces are hottest about 8-20" above the unit. This can change the colour of stone and wreck havoc on electronics. A mantle acts as a heat deflector sending the heat further away from the wall. No mantle and a surface mount TV is a failure in the making I think.

Your manual for that fireplace unit will give you all the answers your looking for and these will help narrow in your design. I like the look of a TV recessed and framed but this often requires shooting out the back of a gas unit or rolling the vent like I did in the fireplace above. With a 'A' vent like shown I do not believe this is allowed nor would you have room to pull it off. These pipes get very hot so heed this stand off warnings and ensure you use a non combustible backer board like cement board, hardi board or Green EBoard around the combustible areas. If possible recessing the mount and getting one that tilts down will make viewing better.

I have tried stirring people away from this look in years past but have come to realize that this is one on the few "Stands" the man of the house can make. So..... I usually push for the new TV and a bigger one, unless of course his wife is signing my cheques..... :)

We are looking at a new feature wall reno on Howe Street this summer that will feature a two way framed mirror to hide the fact that a TV sits behind it. This is a great look but the quality of the TV picture goes down. I'll post some info on the mirror and the mount once the designer sends it my way. If I have to make it from scratch you can be sure I'll document it here.

JW
 
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Abouthadit

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Thanks for the reply's /help/suggestions !
I had it all figured out how I wanted it done.
I bought a new Panasonic 55GT50 plasma, I was going to remove the rock , frame out 8 inch's recess the TV in, recess in the center channel speaker then have the mantel come in just below the recessed center speaker...
BUT
The Tv took a dump after only having it 3 weeks , sent it to the Panasonic repair place ,after waiting 2 weeks and no calls from them I called them and was told two different stories from them. I called Panasonic customer service and got the runaround from them too. Called where I bought the TV from and the salesman talked to his manager , then told me to come on down and pick out another one.
Coarse they didn't have the 55GT50 so settled for the 65ST30.
So now that the 65inch is WAY to BIG to recess in , change of plans , just dry-wall over, have a mantel installed and just wall mount the 65in above that and figure out what to do with the center channel speaker ?

Love the 65in but shot a big hole in my plans...
 

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Jad is right about looking up all the time to watch the tv. It is a pain in the neck, similar to sitting too close to the screen at the cinema's. Plus, I thought your fireplace looked great, just looked like the stone needed to be cleaned. Also, some houses I show with the tv above the fireplace, becomes a sore spot with some buyers, the same with built-in fishtanks acting as a divider.
 

Abouthadit

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Right now the TV is setting approx 3-4 inchs lower than when it will be mounted on the wall.
Will be a distance of 15 ft away for viewing it..

I don't know, I just didn't like the rock wall , just too plain. And yes it was dirty !!
Figured when we sell , I would just hang a picture/mirror in the spot?

I'm too impatient
I felt like I wasn't being kept in the loop about the TV being repaired , so after 2 weeks of nothing , I called the TV repair place , a gal answers the phone tells me they are waiting on parts, when I asked her what kind of time frame? , she puts me on hold then comes back on saying they are working on it now , Great ! I asked when will it be done ? Then again on hold this time when she came back on she said part was damaged when it showed up , had to order another one and it is on back order and has no idea when the other one will show up. I interpreted it as she wasn't being fully truthful or they didn't know what H%$# they were doing.
I called Panasonic customer service got the runaround from them , they gave me some order # and transfered me to their parts dept, When I finally got on line with somebody they told me the part had shipped 3 days earlier but for some reason she can't come up with a tracking # ??
So thats when I called the place where we bought the TV in the first place.

Sooo !! We go down to the place where we bought the TV Saturday afternoon (yesterday) (4 days after going through all the above) looking for a AVR guess what there's our TV setting on the floor even had the note on back saying panel had been replaced... ???

I really like the look of the TV it was the TC-P55GT30 which meant a thinner over all and I believe a better TV....
I can still return the 65inch and get the TV I had in the first place.
If I did that I could go back to my original plan..

BUT
I just felt I got the runaround with everybody except the place where I got the TV and am still upset over the whole ordeal .
I felt like (probably more my own fault?) I was pressured into getting the 65in TC-P65ST30 because it listed for $2999.95 but for the Memorial weekend only it was on sale for $1599.99 So I felt like I had to jump on it...
I like the picture but don't like the fact that the overall housing of the TV is wider/taller because of the outer edges being thicker, that is a major difference from a ST verses GT model (ya have to google both TV's to see what I'm talking about), also the 55GT has a outer trim that makes it look nicer too...

Sorry for the rant I'm just in that state of mind right now on what to do ?????
 

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Two weeks, lol, everything takes 2 weeks. :) If you paid by credit card you might have some leverage.

Ballvalve had posted some pictures of his work, you could get an idea maybe. John here has nice work for sure, but, Ballvalve has redone so much on his property, and, it to me, seems flawless both in workmanship and taste. You should see what he did, it is beautiful.
 
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