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.

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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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.