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can I hang a tv above a woodstove insert?

15 years ago

Our house was built in 1971 and has a white brick wall with the fireplace in it. We are going to put an insert into the fireplace, and I really wanted to be able to put our tv above. The tv salesman said we could, one insert dealer said we could with limitations and one dealer said, 'no' because we'd have 350* of heat going up that wall into the tv. Say "WHA??" With or without a tv, I don't want 350* going up my wall, but I digress...Is this an impossibility? Or perhaps the better question would be where can I find specs on such a thing? The fp wall, btw, is opposite the "main wall" of our living room, so until we do something to join the fp/tv, we'll always have the two competing focal points. SO annoying and difficult to arrange furniture for.

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Comments (3)

fandlil
15 years ago
I think it is generally not a good idea to install a tv over a fireplace or woodstove for 2 reasons -- Heat rises, and will heat up the tv some and shorten its life. If you have a brick wall, it's noncombustible, which is fine and safe. But the tv would have to be beyond what's called the "clearance" the distance between the firebox and the first combustible thing above the firebox. That means that, to be safe, you would have to put the tv pretty high above the firebox so it's not too close to the fire, which could cause a problem. And of course, second reason not to do this, the higher the tv is, the harder it will be to view it comfortably, because you will have to look up to see it.

I feel for you. I know it's a problem to manage the arrangement of 2 focal points. But it's not that hard a problem to solve because the tv against the wall need not be such a big focal point. Another approach might be to consider that your room has 3 focal points -- the tv, the stove, and the sofa. If they each have about equal weight visually, they will create "balance" in the room. Another approach might be to have a richly patterned carpet in the center of the room -- that will draw the eye away from the competing double focal points that you are worried about.

Good luck with your decision.
dancingsams
15 years ago
We installed our Plasma TV above the fireplace insert over a year ago. Everything is fine. Details include:
Our home is over 60 years old. The fireplace wall is brick and the insert was done professionally by an excellent installer. They built the flu independently inside the old chimney. The wall is about 20' tall at its high point. The TV is about 6 feet above the highest point of the insert, and above the mantel. We get no heat in the wall or on the mantel.

It does mean the TV is up high. Our room is long and narrow, so seating is back a ways, making the height okay.

Hope this helps.
Cindy
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A house provides you with more than shelter, comfort, and security; it's the primary place where you interact with your family. In the past a fireplace was a warm location where the family naturally gathered and that is still true although the fireplace has become more symbolic than functional. In many homes the real gathering place for the family is in front of a large screen TV so how do you decide which element gets "pride of place" in your primary living space? Some will say put it the TV above the fireplace and others will say put it in a corner or others will say put it in another room so it doesn't distract from family interaction. The same goes for a dining space. Many will want it to be open to the living space and/or the kitchen and others will want it separate to reduce distractions and encourage family interaction. Of course, the family will interact in any case but it's a matter of whether it is casual or more structured. And then there are guests. Usually you will want to talk to them in your best space but other family members might want to watch TV in that space so you will probably need two TV spaces. I design houses for clients so I try not to have an opinion about how they want to live but I often gently guide them toward spaces where family members can interact face to face. For me that is the most important function of a house.
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great article, just incase folks dont read it here is a clip from it "Will the heat from the fireplace harm the plasma TV? There are a few precautions to take before hanging a plasma screen TV over your fireplace. First, take a thermometer and tape it to the wall above the mantel, in the place where the plasma TV will reside. Then build a fire, and let it roar awhile. Now, check the thermometer. If the temperature is above 90 degrees F, then the area is receiving too much heat -- either escaping from the front of the fireplace and rising up the face, or radiating through the chimney to warm the outside wall -- for a plasma TV to hang there without receiving some modicum of residual damage. It would not be advisable to run the plasma for a long period of time while its environment is this hot. Though the Plasma TV has its own cooling system, the surrounding heat will force the Plasma display to work harder to cool itself, thus shortening the overall lifespan of the unit over time. A Plasma TV may still be run for short periods of time without harming the unit (even with the environment heat at 90 degrees F or above). If the plasma display is not turned on while a fire burn in the fireplace, then the unit will not be harmed at all even though the temperature surrounding the unit may be warm. Of course, this might not be an option for people living in places where winter lasts seemingly forever, and fires are an everyday fact of life. In such cases, you should be advised to monitor the amount of heat your plasma display is exposed to while it is running."
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You can't put the TV on the wall to the right because all you'll see is reflection of the light coming in through the windows behind the couch. Yes, light blocking drapwes would solve that, but all the time as you watch TV? No. Put it to the left of the fireplace, wall-mounted on a swing arm so that it can be angled slightly, if needed (if you put it to the right of the FP, you'll still have the reflection problem)..
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ventupete
15 years ago
I wouldn't worry about it. The key is to make sure that you have a mantel or mantel shelf (that is the proper distance above the firepleace opening - usually at least 12" - but check your local Building Code). This serves to shield the TV from any hot air that might be rising from the fireplace opening. You should also check that the wall doesn't get hot when you have a fire burning for awhile - usually not the case if there's a mantel shelf in place.

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