Sinking recess into chimney breast

[Scott Lapal]

I have an old terraced house (approx 100 years old) which I gutted and modernised about a year ago. During this work, the two chimney breasts were made redundant by the fitting of central heating, they now have 2 false fireplaces instead.

I have recently purchased a 42" plasma TV which I want to sink into the one breast, creating a "flush fit" effect.

Is this a "DIY" project or do I need a pro to do it? I would definitley need to go a lot deeper than the plaster in order to create a "recess" behind for power, connections etc

Obviously I would need to support the breast later, with some sort of Lintel, so, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Scott

[Andrew McKay]

If I were looking at doing this job I'd get a qualified building surveyor to give you advice (you should be able to find one in the local estate agents or somewhere like that). He doesn't need to put anything in writing to give you first thoughts about what might be required. If he says its okay then you can ask him for confirmation in writing just to be on the safe side with insurance etc.

On the other hand if his advice leant towards "no way!" then it's probably a job for a building company who can put in a lintel or what have you.

I'd be cautious about banging away at the infrastructure before that professional advice was forthcoming.

Andrew

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[Martin Angove]

(Dodgy snipping makes something worthy of a Carry On film)

Ummm... can't help with the making of the recess as such, but beware of air circulation space. The plasmas I've seen have needed a *lot* of air for cooling, and flush fitting can be a bit of a problem as this air has to come from and go to somewhere.

Just a thought...

Hwyl!

M.

[dmc]

Is the room big enough that you could afford to loose a bit of space? Maybe a "fake" plasterboard front to the chimney breast with the back of the recess being the front of the existing chimney (maybe minus the plaster?). Does that make sense?

Ventilation could be a big issue

Sounds a nightmare. Strutural engineer time IMHO!

Darren