Harrison Cooper
But enjoying a crackling fire while watching your favorite shows or movies isn’t always the best way to go, and there are different things to consider when mounting a TV above a fireplace. Accidentally drilling into your chimney wall can cause smoke and other dangerous byproducts to leak into your home.
Not to mention it costs thousands of dollars to repair an issue such as a cracked or ruptured chimney box.
Accounting for these aspects of hanging a TV above a fireplace will save you time, money and stress in the long run. Although most professionals don't recommend TVs on a fireplace wall for many different reasons, taking these extra precautions will help ensure you're mounting your TV most safely and efficiently. In this case, clearance is the minimum distance from a fireplace in which you can safely hang or place combustibles such as a mantel, shelf or flat-screen TV.
The good news is that most of the heat generated by wood-burning fires escapes up and out the chimney, so it doesn’t have much of a chance to damage any fireplace decorations or accessories such as your flat-screen TV. Many electric fireplaces are designed for little to no heat output, and instead, give off the appearance of a real fire burning. You won’t have to worry about excess heat from the fire melting your expensive electronics or damaging your wires.
And there’s no doubt that an electric fireplace with a TV mounted above looks beautiful and creates a uniform entertainment space.
If you’re wondering how to hang a TV above your fireplace, then one of the first places to start is understanding your fireplace-facing materials. If your facing is made from brick or stone, then that means you’ll be drilling into that material to secure the mounting kit and hang your TV.
The hazards associated with falling furniture are well documented by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). According to the data provided by the CPSC, TVs alone accounted for over 4,000 furniture-related emergency room injuries to children in 2018.
Straps that anchor into the fireplace wall independent of the mounting kit provide an extra layer of protection for holding your TV in the event it tips over. Mounting a TV above a fireplace means that’s the height where your eyes will be while watching your favorite shows and programs. It’s not comfortable to sit with your head tilted back and your neck strained to view a TV for long periods. Many times, homeowners experiencing this level of discomfort end up moving their TVs from above the fireplace to another area of the room.
These full-range kits offer you a way to pull your mounted TV down to eye level using a swivel and extending arms. Be careful though, you’ll want to take extra precautions when using one of these mounting kits for hanging the TV over your fireplace. Just like with other combustibles, a mantel must have adequate clearance from your firebox before finally settling on a permanent location for hanging it. Although there is no real way to ensure your TV is safe hanging above the fireplace, you can take extra precautions to absorb and deflect the heat coming from your firebox while burning fires. Even though today’s flat-screen TVs are thin and don’t require much shelf space to hold them, you are still likely cutting it close. Custom mantels can have surfaces 10 inches wide in some cases, giving you plenty of space to hold a TV.
You’ll want to install your custom mantel with plenty of clearance from the firebox and test it before placing your expensive flat-screen TV on top of it. To do this, simply light a fire in your fireplace and after it gets burning real nice and hot, touch your hand to the mantel and check for any transfer of heat. If your mantel feels warm to the touch but not hot, then you can always consider adding a fireplace hood for more protection.
