So: You’ve made a huge purchase: the big-screen TV you’ve always dreamed of along with a new TV mount. Out of all the places you might want to mount it, the blank wall above the fireplace seems like the best option. Yet given the TV’s price tag, the last thing you want to do is expose it to too much heat and damage it.
To quickly address the burning question: yes, you can hang your TV over your fireplace in most cases. However, it’s important to have ways to shield your TV from heat, like a mantel or an alcove.
6 Things to Consider Before Hanging a TV Above Your Fireplace
While you can hang a TV above your fireplace, it’s possible that excess heat could damage it. Either way, there are a few things you’ll want to consider:
1. Is Your Fireplace In Use?
If you have a wood-burning brick fireplace that is purely decorative and something you never actually use, go ahead and hang your TV over it. You won’t have to worry about soot or heat!
2. Competing Brightness
When switched on, TVs are meant to be watched. Having another source of light—in this case, flames—near the TV could be distracting, so consider this carefully before hanging your TV wall mount. If you’ve found a great spot for the mount, however, you can continue mounting your TV over the fireplace.
3. Viewing Angle
When you’re doing TV mounting, regardless of whether it’s a frame TV or simply one you’ll watch content on, you’ll want an adjustable wall mount so you can ensure the perfect viewing angle. If your viewing angle doesn’t align with eye levels, it can lead to neck craning and neck strain.
4. Type of Fireplace
Not all fireplaces and walls are created equal. If you’re burning wood regularly, hanging a TV above the fireplace can be risky. These types of fireplaces generate both smoke and extreme heat, and if your television wall is directly exposed to this from below, it could damage your electronics and eventually cover your screen in a thin film of smoke particulates. It may help to close the doors to your fireplace when it’s in use, but this might prevent that cozy heat from entering the room.
Other types of fireplaces that produce less heat—gas fireplaces, gel-fuel fireplaces, and electric fireplaces—can be safer for your TV. For gas and gel-fuel fireplaces, Taskers recommend hanging the TV at least 20 inches above so that it won’t be affected by any rising heat.
5. Mounting and Wires
When you’re mounting a TV on a fireplace wall, you’ll often be dealing with a chimney. Because fireplace installations can have limited options for hiding wires, you’ll want to take this into account when deciding how to connect them to your mounted TV.
If you’re stuck on options, consider banding the cords together, using a cable mounting kit, building a wood pallet mantel to rest the wires on, or installing wall panels that can house the wires. If you have an electric fireplace, it may be easier to hide wires inside the wall.
6. The Mantel
Make sure you have a fireplace mantel. If you do want to risk hanging your TV above the fireplace, you can recess it into the wall so that it’s not directly in the path of rising heat or build a solid mantel above the fireplace so that rising heat is diverted or absorbed. If you do this, be sure to check your owner’s manual to learn how far over the fireplace your TV should be to stay safe.
Most experts recommend hanging a TV at least 20-24 inches above a fireplace at minimum. If you choose to use a TV stand instead, the screen should be at least 36 inches from either side of the fireplace.
I Hang Above My Fireplace Besides a TV?
If you don’t want to deal with any of the considerations mentioned above—which is totally okay!—there are a lot of other cool things you can hang over a fireplace besides your TV. Here’s a list of seven possibilities that can contribute to your home’s decor without putting your new screen at risk:
1. Mirrors. Mirrors are a classic item to hang over your fireplace. Not only do they add perceived space to a room, but they can also reflect the flame’s cozy glow.
2. Art/wall sculptures. Express your personal flare by hanging art that speaks to your innermost sensibilities!
3. Clocks. Who doesn’t need to know the time? Clocks of all sorts can become both functional and decorative pieces above any fireplace.
4. Family pictures and memories. Bring those beautiful moments from the past front and center by hanging them above the fireplace.
5. Sconces. Add more bursts of ambient light to your living-room walls with fixtures that exude a mood or style of your choice.
6. Bold shelving. Instead of an old-fashioned mantel, what if you were to build a fireproof shelf with a modern flare? The possibilities are endless!
7. Vases or candle sticks. If you have a shelf or a mantel over your fireplace, you can mix and match these items in a beautiful way.
Need Help Mounting Your TV?
If you’re not sold on any of the above options for hanging your fireplace TV, you can paint the wall above your fireplace a striking color and let it make its own statement!
Either way, there’s no question that fireplaces and TVs can compete for being the centerpiece of your living room. If you’ve shelled out $1,000+ for that perfect picture, you can either make it work with your fireplace or arrange it so that both items accent each other as opposing focal points. No matter what you choose, one thing is for sure: your living room’s aura will now have double the glow.
If you need assistance mounting your TV, get help from a Tasker today!
