In the light of the recent accident where a child was killed by a glued on fire surround, I've been considering my own house. I have a modern flat screen TV on a little stand on top of a table-type uni t. This could probably be pulled over now that my baby daughter is getting stronger and starting to walk (and *climb*). How could this best be secured - some type of cable from the back of the TV to the wall ? Simon.
It's encouraging that some good might come out of this tragedy.
A modern TV isn't anywhere near as potentially damaging as a fireplace but you're right to be concerned.
Have you considered bolting the TV to the surface it's standing on?
True, most modern TVs are quite lightweight (now that plasmas seem to be disappearing). I could drive some screws through the rear of the stand into the unit, but it would make rather a mess of both items ! Simon.
My TV came with instructions to fix a cable to one of the vesa mounting holes and to the wall. If there is no convenient wall then you need to fix the stand down or attach it to the ceiling.
As I had the stand fail on my last samsung TV (the central column split at the base end, now held together by 3" wood screws) I think fastening it to something rather than fixing the stand down would be better.
Several TV safety straps seem to be available, e.g.
Simon.
Chain child to a wall, so she can't reach the TV.
- show quoted text - Chain child to a wall, so she can't reach the TV. /q
Ah the resident Victorian :-)
Jim K
Our current TV came with a similar strap to that and instructions that it should be used. Bit difficult to use on a glass table though ;)
TV is on the wall anyway, keeps it out of the way of the cats ;)
Simon.
I would see if there is a Kensington bolt point on the back and use a calble back to a hook on the wall - it does not need to be tight - just enough to "catch" the TV if someone pulls it forwards.
Next option is a bolt plus eyelet into one of the 4 VESA boltholds on the back (you will have these - but some stands cover these up of use them for the stand mount).
Next option is to epoxy an anti thief bolt pad on the back - these will usually come with the best glue for the job. Then use this and a chain or cable back to a hook on the wall.
You don't need a lot of strength to protect it from falling.
Well, not sure about this. Old tvs were much heavier and could easily be pushed over on the silly stands they often came with. How did we all live long enough to be adults?
So is it the lightness and naff fixings that you are worried about?. The snag is, unless your tv is different to many, there is really no part of the set strong enough to be that useful. I soppose making sure wires cannot be used to climb, and tables are stable is all one can do. the bit with the feet on on most tvs seems very flimsey, so even screwing it down would not really work. How are the tvs mounted to wall brackets? Maybe some tvs can have a kind of clamp on bracket fitted that fits into holes or slots in the back meant for the job. Brian
I do remember at least one incident locally where a rather heavy 22" colour crt was pulled down onto a child causing injury. I'm surprised it didn't happen more often with the spindly metal leg stands they used to be on.
Messy, coating a cat with PVA and expecting it to stay still....
Probably use a glass clamp?
They don't make kids like they used to...
The UK stopped gathering home accident statistics in 2002:
but in the US the number of children injured by falling televisions more than doubled between 1990 and 2010, with 12,300 receiving emergency treatment in 2011:
Modern TVs are easier to pull over because of their lightness but presumably usually cause correspondingly less serious injuries.
-- Richard
In message , "Nightjar "@?.?.invalid> writes
I've had a lousy day, 38AH 12V Yuasa fell off a wall bracket at 8' onto my leg, now in pain! But thank you for your comment above, I can't stop smiling. It's made my day a lot better. :-)
>
A few years ago someone on this newsgroup mentioned the "Craig Test" which he used when assessing the fixtures needed when screwing anything to a wall in his house: defined as something like " will support his 6 year old son climbing up anything which looks climbable".
In my view a very appropriate assessment method.
I dont find Norfolk CC comments that fitting a 2nd hand fire surround should be left to the professionals helpful.
And the parents are a bit flaky by and large. Too busy on their phones to look after their children
My daughter's TV display shuts down if the grandchild approaches too close. Unfortunately mine doesn't and she has discovered that, but my VESA bracket is bolted to a limestone wall with VERY BIG BOLTS.
But in general, backup strap/chain to the wall (c.f. cooker chains) sounds like a good solution. If on a stand on a heavy enough cabinet, screwing stand to cabinet would probably be my solution and damage to the cabinet would be the least of my concerns.
Also for flat screen TV whether on a stand or the wall, the "child crushing" problem is potentially much less a risk than for a stone fireplace, particularly in this case where there was apparently a heavy "shelf" on top of the surround. Physics dictates that the whole unit pivots out into the room if the surround support fails, making a very large crush footprint.
Totally agree. Pragmatic, simple, pretty much idiot proof.
Up to a point, except that the many "competent DIY-ers" on this NG would consider ourselves "suitably qualified and experienced", or SQEP as we say in my industry.
In truth, is there any "professional qualification" for fire surround fitters? The closest which I can think of might be PUWER and LOLER regulations for "lifting equipment". Whilst many of us have doubtless suffered, as I have, from the excessively zealous insistence on a "risk assessment" before doing a job, fitting a (heavy) fire surround is one job where it seems to be entirely justified, IMO.
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