Recommendation: Flat Screen Installs (house, buy, living)

[ronald.vincent]

Can anybody make a personal recommendation at a good price?

[plessthanpointohfive]

Just be careful. We bought a 50 inch plasma...weighs 125lbs. We bought a bracket rated for it. We installed it. And it started oozing off the wall. So we took it down!

Now, we were installing into 85+ year old masonry so it might be that it was never going to work no matter who did it.

But, if you're hanging it from a wall with studs then you should be able to do it yourself.

I've heard some nightmares about "professional" installers. Costing $500+ and not doing a good job...installing crooked, falling off the wall, etc.

Good luck!!!

[gt6974a]

...go to home depot and buy a stud finder ($10).....

...if you want to hide the wires you have a couple choices, by some rubber/plastic covering ($5) that runs down the wall and paint it, hides your wires and no digging into the wall....

...otherwise cut a hole, buy a 'fish' ($5) and fish it down the 3 feet....

...if you're still not comfortable search online or buy a home depot 1-2-3 book that has 'fish'n' in it....

[mxd.Brit]

I have noticed that a lot of people do not mount their tv's above the fire place is there a reason for this or is it just choice. It seems like the perfect place to put one as it is the focal point of the room leaving you with another wall for sofas etc.

[plessthanpointohfive]

The big thing I've read about is if you have a working fireplace it's not a good idea because of potential heat problems.

If you have a non-functioning fireplace, as I do, or one that is so insulated there is no heat (whats's the point of a fireplace then?) then you just have to make sure you have the right masonry anchors.

In my case I have 85+ year old bricks. They were made a lot different back them. They're much softer than modern brick. Putting masonry anchors in them was like putting a fishing hook in a wedge of cheddar.

[Merin]

I would like to remind everyone to keep your Flat Screens non visible from the street. I one room mine is in a corner, in another the room has blinds and curtains. The police have told us that Flat Screens are hot ticket items among criminals.

[plessthanpointohfive]

We thought about that but decided not to worry so much. For one, we have nothing but windows in our house. It was built before there was much artificial light so they put in a lot of windows so you could have plenty of light during the day. In my living room, which is a long skinny room, there are 7 windows. There's not an exterior wall without at least 2.

And then when we got our plasma we realized it weighed 125lbs. Anyone wanting to steal that is going to have to get a partner. My house is 5 feet off the ground. I have a 5 foot retaining wall holding up my yard and a concrete staircase to get up to the top of the front yard. Then another short flight of concrete steps to get to my porch. Forget about breaking in the back way. I share my driveway with my stay at home mom neighbor...she notices everything....

[plessthanpointohfive]

Not saying it couldn't/won't happen. Just saying the probability is low...

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by mxd.Brit

I have noticed that a lot of people do not mount their tv's above the fire place is there a reason for this or is it just choice. It seems like the perfect place to put one as it is the focal point of the room leaving you with another wall for sofas etc.

personal preference....i.e. most people prefer to watch television at eye level and most guides claim the same....that being said...people do put it over their fireplace..you'll be looking up no matter the angle.

...as the other buy said, heat is an issue but you can install guards to block out the heat.

..cnet and bestbuy both have guides online to review

[BobKovacs]

I'm just laughing because the same guy who was looking for window bars and alarm systems last week is looking for someone to mount his flatscreen this week. I guess we know why he needed the security items now.....lol.