Things To Consider Before Mounting A TV Above A Fireplace

If you’re want to install your TV above a fireplace there are some things to consider before you do this. These include are you going to get neck-ache looking up at the TV? Is the heat from the fire going to damage the TV? In this blog we discuss these and much more.

Let’s get started.

TV Viewing Angle – Neck Ache!

Most fireplaces are too high for really for TV’s to be mounted, this is because once sat down in your viewing location the angle looking towards the TV is too great and you’re likely to get neck-ache. The optimum TV angle is in and around eye level to the centre of the screen when sat down in your viewing position. If you’re were to do this with a fireplace it would take the TV into the fire so it’s not feasible.

I totally understand that in many lounges that having the TV installed above a fireplace is the logical place and in fact aesthetically it may actually look best in that position so you may wish to do it anyway. I totally understand, I personally have install countless TV’s above fireplaces.I actually had my TV above my fireplace at my old house.

Tilting TV Bracket

To help negate the viewing experience, you could install the bracket onto a tilting wall bracket that allows the TV to be angled down to the viewing location. In reality this won’t really change the viewing angle but it may help improve you viewing experience. In some of the early LCD TV’s if you didn’t view the TV straight on it would appear very dark and you wouldn’t be able to make out the picture, so a tilting TV wall bracket could really help in this situation.

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Read our blog on different types of brackets for wall mounted TV's including the tilting TV wall bracket.

Pull Down Full Motion TV Wall Mounts – TV Bracket For Fireplace

These are still not particularly well known but there is a full motion wall bracket that allows the TV to be pulled away from the wall and down when in use. This will give a far suitable viewing angle whilst the TV is being viewed and then when the TV is not in use it can be founded back into place above the fireplace so that it still takes pride of place above your fireplace.

There are a few manufacturers of this type of mount, at the time of writing this Sanus and B-Tech are not making one yet which are manufacturers that I use and recommend more than any other. But the leading manufacturer seems to be Tranquil Mounts so I recommend that you check them out if you’re after this type of bracket.

Re-Arrange Furniture – Adjust Viewing Location

Another thing that would be possible would be to adjust your furniture so that you are further away from the TV. I’m not sure that the kids will like it when it comes to playing the computer games and you may want to purchase a larger TV if you’re going to be watching it from a longer distance.By doing this you will naturally reduce the viewing angle of the TV from your viewing location and potentially improve your viewing experience.

Rising Heat

Apart from the TV viewing angle another thing of consideration should be rising heat from the fire. If like most people,these-days you do not use this and the fireplace is purely decorative you need not worry. If you do however, then you should maybe consider installing a mantelpiece if you not not have one already to help divert the heat away from the TV. I’m not going to go any more into this here as I have already done so in my blog about mounting TV’s above radiators which is of a similar theme.

Picture Frame TV’s

It’s not a service that we offer but you may want to consider having your TV framed by a professional TV installation company. This involves installing a picture frame around the TV so that when the TV is not in use it’s looks nice. Like something that you would normally install above your fireplace. You can actually have your TV mounted behind a mirrored glass so that when is the TV is  not in use it looks and acts like a normal mirror.

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Samsung “The Frame” TV

A further extension of the picture frame concept is Samsung’s “The Frame” TV. The whole TV is in a rectangular shape like a picture frame, in fact the frame part of the TV is interchangeable so if you do not like the design or the colour, you can clip it off and clip on another one. The TV has two modes, one would be normal use where you would watch your TV. The other is a half standby mode where the TV displays a still picture, like a painting or a landscape and it will remain on standby resembling a normal picture you would otherwise have on your wall. In fact the picture can be changed to your family or child, pet, sports team and so on. The design of the TV and the bracket it comes with as well as the connecting cables make the TV an ultra slim profile to it doesn’t necessarily look like a TV when it’s on the wall.

Move TV To The Corner Of The Room On Full Motion Wall Bracket

As I already touched upon TV’s are often mounted on walls because it seems like the only potential place where they can be installed. As the fireplace itself extends away from the wall either side of the TV would be recessed so it would seem like not a very good place to mount your TV as you could potentially have trouble viewing it depending on your viewing location. Where this is in the corner you could instead install the TV onto the recessed part of the wall in the corner on a full motion wall bracket that will allow the TV to be pulled away from the wall and rotated to your viewing location, when not is use you can fold back in. Or you could have the TV installed at an angle so that it is always facing towards you.

When purchasing full motion wall brackets I advise getting a good one like a Sanus or B-Tech model, especially for large TV’s as full motion wall brackets vary hugely is terms of quality. Where you want to have the TV pull away from the wall so that you can get clearance from a fireplace you will need to make sure that the bracket will pull away far enough from the wall to allow this. To do this, measure half the width of the TV including the frame,or the full width and divide by two. Do not take the screen size measurement as this is done corner to corner of the TV screen and doesn’t include the frame.This will give you a measurement say 30cm perhaps. Now when you buy your bracket you will need to buy a bracket that has at least 30cm extension away from the wall if you want to be able to turn your TV at 90 degrees away from the wall. If you need this to be further like to look around the fireplace you will need to add the distance that the fireplace extends from the wall. So if this is 15cm for instance, you will want to purchase a mount that pulls away 45cm away from the wall.

The Cables

Obviously with the mounted above the fireplace, you’re going to need some cables up there for the thing to work. Like a TV aerial/ satellite cable, HDMI’s for any equipment, optical lead for your soundbar and so on. At the very least you’re going to need get the power up there. You could trunk these for a simple finish or if you were looking for something a bit more professional you’re going to want to chase the cables in the wall. To do this I recommend chasing up the side of the fireplace and then coming across the front to the TV. I personally where possible try nearer the side of the front of the fireplace drill at an angle to where the chase is as this means that there is no need to chase away the corner of the wall which can be move difficult to repair. Also with smaller fireplaces or larger TV’s often this means that I can completely get away with chasing the front of the fireplace at all leaving only the side of the fireplace to fill/ plaster. A 25mm or 1” hole is large enough to fit most HDMI cables through but you may want to drill a larger hole if there are multiple cables to be fed through. I advise getting these in now as you don’t want to have to add these at a later date.

Alternatively, you could install a bit of pipe of large bit of conduit to allow the pulling of cables at a later date, plumbing waste pipe is perfect for this but this all depends on how much dust you want to make.

Site For The AV Equipment When TV Is On Wall

If you currently have your TV on stand with a Sky box or DVD/Bluray or Games Console beneath and have decided that installing a TV above a fireplace is right for you. A logical question is where all the AV equipment is going to go when the TV is on the wall? Things like soundbars are self explanatory as these can be mounted up with the TV, but what about your Sky box? What about your Playstation? What about your AV receiver or surround sound system?

The answer to all of this is pretty much where you want. If you want to conceal all of your equipment away, then this can be done by installing them within a cupboard or under the stairs etc. There are couple of things to take into account when you do this. The cables that connect between the TV and the AV equipment, where ever the equipment goes cables will need to connect between the two, like HDMI, aerial cables etc and how you will control the equipment when it’s tucked away. A lot of equipment like the new Sky Q boxes, Xbox and Playstations use Bluetooth remotes which work over RF so you do not need to have line of sight with the remote, it will connect as long as it is within range.

If you have a standard Sky box like a HD box this can be controlled by connecting to the RF2 ouput, or i/0 link output with i/0 link modulator and coaxial cable to a remote eye that sits by the front of your TV.You point the remote at the eye and it sends the infra red commands down the cable to reach the Sky box which will allow you to control it. If you have any other equipment you will need to install a infra red emitter as well as the magic eye which would allow you to control BT Vision boxes and DVD players etc.

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Thanks For Reading - For Questions Read Below

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I hoped you liked this blog, as always PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT in the blog comment section below if there is anything that you would like me to help you with. Please DO NOT E-MAIL or CALL OUR TELEPHONE LINES, I do not have the time to answer all the questions I get asked on an individual basis, post your comment in the blog comment section below so everyone can get the benefit of your question and the answer given and I will get back to you ASAP.

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Thanks for reading, please check back in the future for more AV/ CCTV/ Aerial & Satellite related blogs.

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Tom