fireplace remodel question. Cannot decide on mantel height.

10 years ago

My current fireplace is ugly and is 38" high including surrounding bricks. The ceiling is 8' high. There is enough space above the fireplace to have a TV hung on the wall.

I am going to have the fireplace remodeled. I'll have a contractor put in the new door, remove all the bricks and pave marbles, and add mantel. In order to have a 53"--56" TV hung on the wall above the fireplace, what would be the optimal height of the mantel, about 42" or below 48" would be fine?

By the way, is this door very good? Pleasant Hearth AN-1012 Alpine Fireplace Glass Door, Black, Large

Thank you very much.

Featured Answer

fynite

10 years ago

From Samsung, indirectly, and I'm not sure how old it is:

"Samsung LCD TVs have an operating temperature range of 50ÃÂ° F to 104ÃÂ° F (10ÃÂ° C to 40ÃÂ° C). Samsung Plasma TVs have an operating temperature range of 32ÃÂ° F to 104ÃÂ° F (0ÃÂ° C to 40ÃÂ° C). Temperatures outside the listed ranges will affect the operation of these TVs. Consequently, hanging an LCD or Plasma TV over a working fireplace or a heater, or subjecting it to near or below freezing temperatures is not a good idea."

So, not above the fireplace, and not in the walk in freezer. Got it. :)

Doesn't mention LED TVs. I know I have seen a spec sheet for how high the TV needs to be above a heat source for a given type and size of mantle and a specific inset depth, but I am not finding that info easily available.

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Comments (8)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
10 years ago
Just make sure he is going to put a decent mantle in. I was horrified when I saw, yesterday, the mantle they chose!

I freaked!

But you need a few inches below your TV. That's your big job. The contractor should give you a substantial mantle (not a cheap thing you could DIY).

Why do you need extra inches above the mantle and below the TV? Well, for the flowers and the candles.

Suzi
fynite
10 years ago
One thing we thought about, since we have the same situation almost:

The mantle has to be high enough that it is safe from the fire (assuming it is flammable) Once you do that you may find that the TV is uncomfortably high on the wall for comfortable watching. I would put a cardboard / paper cutout on the wall where you think the TV will be, then sit in your favorite chair and stare at the middle of it for a while and pretend you are watching TV. (Remember that a lot of the action on the TV will happen about the mid point or above.)

Alternately, sit in your favorite chair and relax. then find the spot on the wall that is at the center of your vision. That's about where you want your TV mounted.

We looked at that, realised that there was no room for a TV above the fireplace an put it in the kitchen. Thats where we spend most of our time anyways, and it means I can watch cooking shows while I cook :)
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I'd only use the numbers on cynandjon's link if your fp builder doesn't provide you with figures for your specific model-- I know that with gas burners, the clearance varies by BTU. In artistic terms, I think a higher, wider fp is more appropriate for larger spaces. In fact [and despite the fact that the trend seems to be running the other direction] I like to see fps in tall spaces lifted 12 to 16 inches above the floor so that the flames are at eye level when you are seated. A nice bonus to this is that the hearth can make nice extra seating when needed. Makes the fp seem much larger, more of a centerpiece. But ultimately, its all about scale. The mantle height that would work well with a large firebox might seem a little strange with a smaller one. I'd get some graph paper and do some scale drawings. And you might want to be looking at some art to go way up high on that wall as well.
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C, Pellet stoves are nice but expensive initially. One factor with pellets is that while they are easier to stack, store and keep clean and burn clean, a pellet stove burning looks like a blast furnace. And, pellets are still linked with to the price of oil since they are a by-product of the logging and lumber industry which needs diesel fuel to cut, process, and deliver the pellets. So if oil goes up so does the price of pellets. You also can't make any pellets whereas you can easily cut your own wood. With only 7 inches to clearance I don't know of any inserts even with a mantle shield that would support that. For example, a Hearthstone Morgan insert needs 34 inches to the mantle without a heat shield but with a heat shield it still needs 22. I'm not aware of any insert with only 7 inches of mantel clearance. If you really want an insert and there are inserts such as a Pacific Energy Summit rated for ~2,000 feet or even more, (roughly the size of your house), or a hearth mounted wood stove which is another option you would have to lose the mantle or replace it with one which is non-combustible, (made from stone, brick, or ceramic tile. One thing with either an insert or hearth mount is that you will probably need a chimney re-line since you should vent a stove into a chimney whose cross-sectional area is bigger than the exhaust of the stove. Most stoves have a 6 inch round exhaust. Finally, 4 grand is a lot to pay for a pellet setup. I don't know whether you have forced hot air or hot water but you can definitely get a wood furnace to hook into your ductwork for hot air for that or less, and for slightly more you could get a wood gasification boiler like the EKO imported by New Horizon Corp. which you can hookup in series with your existing boiler. Both the boiler and or the furnace would need some basement space, make-up combustion air and available capacity on a chimney flue. Do not go with an outdoor boiler, they make a lot of smoke and are pretty expensive in their own right. Finally over $4,000 for oil even at a pre-buy price of like $2.50 which is what it was when I last checked is 1,600 gallons of oil which over a 5-6 month heating season,(full-time use) is a lot of oil. If you use that much oil you would need a LOT of wood since a cord of good hardwood is roughly equivalent to 125-150 gallons of oil. No matter what you do, you would probably be better served looking into some insulation and caulking. Good luck
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User
10 years ago
With only an 8' ceiling and a TV that's as large as half that size, above a fireplace is NOT going to be comfortable or proportionate for it's location. You'd need to be back 15' at least from the fireplace to see the TV at a comfortable angle for your neck. A TV that large needs to barely be elevated off of the floor for the proper viewing angle. 24" tops.

Plus, the fire code will dictate the non flammable area required around the firebox. Check with your local fire department or code enforcement for guidance on how to plan a safe and legal surround.
janesylvia
Original Author
10 years ago
desertdance, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I need to buy all the materials. I'll find a picture of fireplace that I like online, and buy the mantel materials. The contractor will then assemble and install them.

Fynite, thank you very much for your help. You mean an MDF or wood mantel needs to be high enough for safety reason? Would 42" or 45" be high enough? I definitely don't want the TV to be on an uncomfortably high position.

Really appreciate your help.
janesylvia
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you very much for your information, GreenDesigns.

Is electric fireplace a good choice in order not to have the height restricted by fire code?
fynite
10 years ago
for a traditional fireplace, you would need to look up the code where you live. I believe the code is usually expressed in terms of x inches from top of the fireplace opening. So you would need to know how high the top of that is first. I have no idea what code is for electric fireplaces (assuming this is one that heats the air. If it's just a screen that shows a merrily burning fire but produces no heat, like our local sandwich shop has, you can probably do whatever you want.)

Also, the TV may have it's own specs that say "must be X inches above heat source to avoid damage to TV" though usually you can reduce this distance by having a deeper mantle, or by having the TV recessed so the heat passes in front of it instead of washing across it. I suspect that for that it may not matter if the fireplace is gas, electric, or wood, as if it is hot enough to heat the house then it is hot enough to damage the TV if the TV gets to close. But I haven't looked at that explicitly.
janesylvia
Original Author
10 years ago
Fynite, thank you so much for your detailed information, very helpful.

It looks like it's not recommended to put TV above fireplace, even with deeper mantel or recessed TV, or electric fireplace. Got it.

fireplace remodel question. Cannot decide on mantel height.

fynite

Comments (8)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b

fynite

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Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b

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