How to Mount a TV Above a Fireplace and Hide Wires

Welcome back to Fix This Build That I'm Brad. And today we're gonna be mounting a TV over a fireplace with totally hidden wires Okay So right now our TV is in one of these little nooks that kind of came by the Builder But that was before TVs got really big and really nice and we want to move that over so we can get a bigger TV And make this into built-in bookshelves, which is gonna be another project that I'll be doing later on So here's the fireplace. It is a stack stone fireplace, but it is very uneven across the surface So there's gonna be some challenges there. And also I need to run power because there's no power behind there so I'm gonna go ahead and dive in and I'm gonna also tell you how you can do that if your setup is a little Bit different than mine as well. Our fireplace is a gas burning insert and with the deep shelving I was pretty sure it was hollow behind I took off the trim to get an idea of how it was constructed and the best way to get back there I was happy to find out it was just drywall and I could easily cut into it. I Started to cut that whole panel out with a drywall saw But then I decided just to cut a little peephole to see what was going on before I fully committed The whole saw is from the wire extension kit that I'll be using And I was hoping that I could use this hole that I made for the wiring harness later Now the folks watching on my Instagram stories got a first look through the hole Alright guys, we are officially in the thick of it. I drilled a hole there in the side of the wall Check it out into the darkness. I Stuck my phone inside the wall to see what's going on and I was relieved to see an open space in the wood framing around the fireplace insert and the lack of a nest of angry possums was also a bonus - And next we unbox the new OLED TV. We got from LG the sponsor of today's video This OLED screen is ridiculously thin and I'll tell you more about that. Later But that means the electronics and the mount location are much lower on this TV We laid down the TV and put the mounting arms over the bowls Then I measured from the bottom of the screen to the hook on the arms and I'll use this measurement to locate the wall bracket once we decide on a position for the TV We don't have a mantel and we wanted to put the TV as low as possible without it looking weird So we use the packaging from the TV as a mock-up and we tried a few different heights to see what felt comfortable for us But being so close to the fireplace I wanted to see how the heat would be at that spot and see if it would affect things So I cranked up the fireplace and I taped a thermometer to the stone where the TV would go and where it would get most Of the heat. I also put the gas on full-blast and left the glass doors open just to get the worst case scenario After 15 minutes of running wide open it went from 75 degrees to about 80. I Checked back at 30 minutes and it had only gone up to 81 degrees but the surface of the thermometer looked to be closer to 86 But that was still well within a range that I felt comfortable with Be sure that you check your own setup based upon your fireplace usage to make sure it's not going to damage your TV before you mount it Now we actually decided to go right between those two tape lines for the lower edge of the TV I measured up and I put another piece of tape where the top of the bracket should go based upon the earlier measurement. We took All right so this is where we want the top of the TV mount to be but with a stone fireplace the big issue is Because of all the stones here, it's not flat And so this stone is causing an issue If I try to put it right here the bottom of this is hitting right against this one sticks out way further than the other One so I'm gonna have to take this out because that is gonna interfere with the actual mounting bracket So we're gonna have to pry this out. Shave it down and then put it back up I used in masonry chisel in a small pry bar and I was able to pretty easily remove that stone that was sticking out Now the stone gone I could drill some holes with a couple different bits to get some more information about my setup Or this is a great tip for those of you who do not have access to the back So what I was able to do, we took the brick off here and I drilled in with masonry bit until I hit wood I saw some wood dust coming out then I switched over to the wood bit and then I marked on the drill bit where it Was I had a little mark there? And so then I knew that was the beginning of the wood So what you want to know is is that a true stud or is that maybe just a thing of OSB or some thin sheathing? So I started drilling and then figured out how long it took till I busted through it I actually busted through right at the end and that is right about an inch and a half so I've probably got some time for Blocking or heading of heading back there, but you can also see that the dust it's a it's a wood It's a fresh wood color. So it's not OSB. It's not a mixed dark color So I know I have some blocking back behind here And I know that's not a vertical stud because I space these out So if it was a vertical stud I would have missed on the second one, which is about three inches apart so that's a great way to Understand if you're trying to look in your wall and know if you have any blocking back behind there you could do that same thing As you start drilling for the holes for your mounting hardware And next it was time to get back behind there and really get a good look at the framing I cut a large panel of the drywall out where I drilled my little people then I went full Shawshank Redemption And shimmied into that cavity All right Ament all Right. So there's where I came in that is the hole over here. We have the fireplace So this is the fireplace insert. And again, this is gas fireplace This is gonna look completely different if you have a wood-burning fireplace So you have this flue here and that's what you want to stay away from now this is the header that we drill into and If you don't have access to this make sure that you are not drilling into just the OSB here But you're actually hitting a stud. You can't hit a stud You're gonna have to use some other type of wall anchor possibly as well after taking some measurements I came back out and there's no better way to feel like you're getting old Then trying to shimmy back out of a small hole in your wall and hey If you want to see what other odd places I'll be crawling into or out of make sure you subscribe and ring that Bell Okay, okay Now that I know I have a header right in here I can go in and put the power right here because this is an open spot So I'm gonna remove this whole piece cut it down and then remove all of the concrete and everything and put my plate right there My first idea was to pry the large red stone off of there and cut it down and then put it back in place Now this one was much harder to get out though and after 10 or 15 minutes of trying to get it off I just decided to chisel off the part that I wanted gone I used a large masonry chisel and I just hammered away at it until the stone cracked into and Behind that I could see how it was all attached the stone is set into wire mesh with mortar and this sets on top of an OSB sheet that has a layer of black tar paper in between I drilled through the OSB and I left the drill bit in the hole so I could see exactly where it was on the inside After confirming that it was high enough over the header and to the right of that vertical stud I started removing the mortar and the wire mesh so that I could drill through the OSB I Used tin snips and a screwdriver here just to pick away at the mesh and I brought out the chisel to help when I needed It after a few minutes of work. I had a clear spot to drill a hole for the electrical extension box I used the same hole saw from before and I drilled through the OSB to get a spot for the extension wiring So here's how this power and concealment kit works this is a power plug and this basically is going to extend over to that cavity where the Electronics are going to be and it's going to go through here then on the other end of the cable there is a plug with a Male adapter that you will run an extension cord to the wire for this is rated for in the wall So as up to code, I am NOT an electrician check your local codes to make sure that it works This cable is gonna be great for me Let's go ahead and put it in my kit was two pieces which ended up not really being great for me Which you'll see in a minute But they all go in similar with a female in being put above the fireplace and secured tight with a screwdriver After going back into the wall I realized that the wire chase portion of this box wasn't gonna work since it was right in where the wood header was gonna be So I removed the back with a multi-tool on this box and I did the same thing with the other piece This gave me a spot to fit an inch and a half PVC pipe right onto the back of it and I could use that for a chase for the low-voltage wires. I Strap the PVC to the studs just to hold it in place firm to the back of the TV mount box And this is going to protect the wires and make it easier to run them without having to get back into that wall again I left the chase open on the other end since I'll be rerouting the wires when I redo the built-ins later this year maybe next year I Had to drill another hole for the wires a little bit higher Since the electrical extension couldn't reach that lower hole that I'd already made So be sure you know the distance your extension kit can cover before you start drilling Now next I went ahead my reinstall the stones on the fireplace I use construction adhesive to put them back in place and it bonds them there very quickly and For the thick stone that was interfering with the mount I marked it to make it flush with all the other bricks and then I cut it on my tile saw After letting it dry out I glued it in place as well And the fireplace was ready for wires in the TV mount I ran two HDMI cables through the wire chase and out through the hole that I've made in the upper cabinet And then I installed the wall plates that held the cables with the male side of the extension wire Now these get screwed into place just like the other one and when the turn rings go on over the box It gives a really nice clean. Look Plugging in the extension cord from an existing wall socket to the male side adapter of the wiring kit Completes the connection and it gives me electric behind the fireplace ready for the TV So now I could move on to getting the TV mounted on this uneven stone while my wife held the bracket I used a bamboo skewer to touch the stone behind the bracket and Mark the offset and I'll use these marks later to set the spacers that I'll be needing. I Mark the locations for the holes I'll be drilling which for me is a bit easier since I was drilling into a full header versus trying to hit vertical studs So I could really go anywhere along the bracket After indenting, the stone was a punch for a good start. I drilled through the stone veneers with a masonry bit. I Removed all the concrete dust and then I drilled a little more with a wooden metal bit to make sure that I hit the wood And I didn't get stopped by that metal mesh I'm using six inch self-tapping lag screws to hang the TV mount which is going to give me plenty of bite into the header I Use the markings on the skewers that I've made to stack up spacers and washers on that lag screw until I had the right offset The spacers came with the TV mount I'm using and they really worked awesome. I Did a test fit on the wall, and I saw that I needed a few more washers on the top left The goal is to have that bracket sitting firmly against the rock and not moving at all when you push it flat now I added the extra washers and then I drove the lag screws into the header with an impact driver stopping before pulling them tight Then I switched over to my ratchet and I drove the screws in the rest of the way now most screw bits will fit right into a quarter inch socket and this makes it easy to snug things up without worrying about overdriving the screws And just to make sure that the bracket was secure. I gave it a highly calibrated nine year old static load test I connected the mount arms to the TV using the included bolts that came with the mount and then we hung this beautiful TV on the Wall now one thing I love about this TV mount is that it swings out on either side For easy access to wire things up I connected the power on one side in the HDMI and antennae on the other and Then we peeled off the wrapper and fired up this LG OLED TV to check it out now this TV is a massive upgrade from my old one the wallpaper thin design makes it look like the TV is just floating above the fireplace and let's the picture be the real star of the show the OLED technology gives perfect black and infinite contrast to bring out the detail and the darkest scenes It also delivers vivid color in full 4k HDR quality And one of my favorite features on this TV is the remote the magic remote has this point-and-click Functionality and it's got a full array of AI capabilities including voice recognition with Alexa and Google assistant integration the picture is Truly amazing and my kids really like the picture frame mode where it will display a gallery of pictures That look like you just have art hanging in the room This TV is really going to transform movie night at the Rodriguez house You can find out more about the LG OLED TV line via the link below in the description Thanks LG. Hey, if you loved this video, I've got a playlist queued up for you right there with some other home DIY projects I think you'll love those too until next time guys. Get out there and build something awesome

Channel: Fix This Build That

Views: 849,115

Keywords: How to mount a tv above fireplace, mounting tv above fireplace, mount tv hide wires, wall mounted tv, how to hide wires for wall mounted tv, how to hide your tv wires, hide tv wires, wall mount tv, tv above fireplace, tv over fireplace, tv on fireplace, add electrical outlet for wall mounted tv, diy, how to, diy project, fixthisbuildthat, fix this build that, ftbt, LGTV, LG4K, LGtelevision, NewTV, NewLGTV, LGTVmodels, 4KSmartTV, Best4KTV, 4KTVDeals, 4KHD, Best65inchTV, 65inchOLED, OLED, OLEDTV

Id: -ecnEkqAa2o

Length: 12min 19sec (739 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 25 2019