opinions needed

[Locutus]

I am installing a gas fireplace in a home I am currently rehabbing that I am going to be moving into by the end of the year. What I want to do is build stone surround for the fireplace, 4' tall x 4' wide. On top of the mantel, I want to build an oak TV cabinet that goes all the way up to the ceiling. In order to fit my current TV, the cabinet would need to be 24" deep. meaning the fireplace surround would need to be 24" ~ deep. The gas insert only requires about 16".

My brother, who is helping me rehab the house, thinks the fireplace will look stupid that far off the wall. I can't say I can remember seeing a fireplace that far off the wall, but if you can envision it, I am curious to what other think, I certainly don't want to put the effort into something that doesn't look right.

[Leon]

My parents have a fire place that is 36" out form the wall. It does have

10" deep shelves built in on either side but 26" sticks out plus an additional 18" for the bottom base ledge. A large fireplace will not look odd. If it is tiny it may look a bit more out of place.

[Leuf]

Even if you were somehow born without the instinct to buy a new flat screen tv, if when presented with the perfect excuse you do not act upon it you really should seek professional help. Think how much money you'll save not having to build out that far, not how much they cost.

-Leuf

[RicodJour]

Exactly. If you can't persuade someone to agree to your want, fabricate a need. Then, after they've bitten, and you have the TV delivered and paid for, start discovering all of those "hidden" obstacles that are just _chewing_ you up inside but are absolutely essential. Like built in speakers, component lifts, and a remote Peltier Beer cooler.

R

[Charley]

And how obsolete that hole for the TV is going to look in another ten years if you don't buy and include a flat screen TV in your design now.

[somewildmonkey]

How about building bookshelves against the wall on each side of the fireplace? They would offset some of the distance the fireplace protrudes from the wall as well as providing usable space.

Although, the flat-screen TV idea seems like a great idea.

[Doug Miller]

I think your brother's right.

Built-ins on either side of it will reduce the apparent distance that it protrudes into the room -- and the advice to get a flat-screen TV is spot on.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, it may look stupid. Just my opinion, but a TV over a fireplace just has to look out of place. Other concerns though are the next TV (it probably won't fit) and heat. If the heat from the fireplace rises it cold drasticly cut the life of the TV.

[Highland Pairos]

While I like the fabrication of an excuse, I do have to agree with Ed on this one. I have never liked the look of the TV over the fireplace. I also wonder how that is to view. Unless you can sit back a good distance or you will definitely have recliners it seems that you would have to be looking up a fair bit. I have also wondered about the heat and its effect on electronics.

Just my two pennies.

SteveP.

[Mike Marlow]

I have to agree. The whole idea just has the feel of a Marriott Courtyard hotel to me.

[Charlie M. 1958]

Hard to say how it will look without being able to see the room, but I have a serious suspicion that a TV over a fireplace will be too high. Unless the room is huge and you plan on watching from 20-30 ft. away, you will end up with serious neck strain.

[Locutus]

The fireplace is a gas fireplace and will be well insulated within the surround, and it's not like it is going to be used all of the time, only occasionally. I am not really concerned with the heat. The TV will be about

52" above the ground, recommended viewing height for a 32" TV is 36" - 40", so it won't be *that" high.

The TV cabinet will have doors, so when the TV is not in use it will not look out of place.

I am seriously considering a flat screen, though I will still enclose it in a cabinet, it will allow be to reduce the footprint of the surround to about

20". Though a new flat screen isn't really in the budget...

I appreciate everyone's feedback!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Hang a piece of cardboard and sit back in your chair and "view" it. Even better, put a portable TV on something at that height and see if it is comfortable to view. I have a small TV in my office at that height and while fine for catching the news or weather, I'd not want to watch it all evening. YMMV.

[Patriarch]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:C1K8h.3516$_x3.3480@trndny02:

There's actually very little on tv I'd like to watch all evening. Including, most days, the news...

That's why there's TiVo.

Patriarch

[Renata]

The "natural" position of your head is a slight downward angle. Computer monitors, for example, should not be set in a position that causes you to have to look up at them, even slightly, or you get neck strain.

Same deal w/a tv, though there are workarounds. If you plan on watching tv from a recliner or similar, where you can lean back and look up at the tv, ok. Otherwise, I'd reconsider. It seems to be all the rage these days - to stick one of those flat screens above the fireplace. So, it's done in rooms too small to accomodate the setup.

Way back when, there were these console tvs that sat on the floor and had the screen a fews inches off the ground. One would sit on the couch and watch them in an "ergonomicly" comfortable position. Nowdays, that seems to be out the window and ergonomics is not considered as everyone thinks sticking the tv on the wall, ala a masterpiece painting, is so cool.

Of course, if you do have nice chairs you plan to lean back in, a decent distance from the set, that's another thing.

Renata

[Prometheus]

Depends on how you install the stone- If it's just on the front, it may look a little odd (though not too bad, really). If you wrap it around, it'll look great.