Hi Maria, I have a TV over my fireplace (50 inches) in an alcove, but no stone. It worked out nicely due to blind luck .... 1) TV's change very fast. If you have an Alcove the dimensions of the alcove and the TV may not match later because the TV you had in mind is no longer made. A newer model may have slightly different dimensions. So if you go this route make your alcove larger for some spare room. Also note when you mount that tv, the installer will need about 2 inches all the way round. This is because the TV is put in, then sinks down onto the mount. The alvoce was built two years before we got the TV. And it fitted perfect!!! Blind luck. 2) If your building codes allow it, have a 3/4 inch piece of Plywood where you want to mount your TV. Fasten this to your studs. This is so that it the TV mount can take the weight. Note code may dissallow this due to fire codes because it is too close to your fire place. In that instance maybe some sort of steel ... not sure. Your cultured stone will hide all this. 3) Put in all the wires: Power --- make sure you have a surge protected socket. Position this socket high up. Above where you think the mount plate should be. Why? You do not want your power cable dangling down and showing below your TV. Not too high up because you want your TV to hide this. Coax cable for the TV picture -- Position high above mount plate. But not too high so it is hidden by the TV Decide where you want your cable TV box, and DVD player etc. RGB, two of these component video from the TV to DVD player place L-R Audio, four of these, to DVD player HDMI cable, two of these to dvd player S-Video, one of these to dvd player Video, one of these to dvd player Put these cables in now because they are a big bunch. The whole bunch will cost you about $US 300. You need like the 30 feet ones. You can get these from Pacific Custom Cable. No need for Monster cables which are a rip off. I know this is alot of cables and it is expensive. But, now is the time, after that stone vener is up you are never going to change it. I think this about covers it. Good luck. Warmest regards, mike. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.pacificcable.com/

Do you have any photos of how you want it to look? I would also worry about the cave effect. We have had a tv ( for movies, not actual tv) over a fireplace in our basement for years but it is a gas FP and therefore the heat can be turned off or down very quickly, unlike a wood fire that burns for hours. If you have a massive Fp I would probably make sure there is a goof layer of heat resistant material above it.

We, too, have a big stone fireplace that is a focal point. There are windows on both sides, so no place for a tv there, either. We opted for a built-in cabinet on the right-hand wall. It is recessed, and I have shutters that close over it (although I haven't installed them yet--it's on my "to do" list). The other side of that wall is the master bedroom. So having a recessed cabinet in the living room allowed me to have a similar recessed cabinet in the master bedroom. Although we were originally going to use it as a tv area on the bedroom side, I opted to make it built-in bookshelves. A benefit to having the recessed area in the living room is having a shelf that I can display something above the tv--breakable things that I don't really want the kitties messing with. We have lighting (on it's own switch) up there, to show off whatever I'm displaying. Below the tv is another shelf where the other electronics are. There is another set of shutters to cover up all that crap...I mean, all that very important electronic equipment. And their cords, since the plug in is located in the recessed area. The fireplace is on the North wall. TV in the East wall. We have a couch on the South side, centered and facing the fireplace. A loveseat and recliner on the West wall, facing the tv. The recliner is kind-of diagonal. We have an open floorplan, and the kitchen is on the Southwest side. From there, I can watch the fireplace AND the tv, which is kind of nice. I don't have it yet, but there will be a large coffee table in front of the couch.

You will need to check with the manufacture of gas fireplace for the clearance they require. Removing the brick is not a problem, but maintaining clearance is essential. Check the manufacture and local code and go from there. A chimney sweep or mason who deals with a lot of fireplaces might be able to answer the questions also.