Mounting a TV Above a Fireplace in Halifax
Above the fireplace is where most living rooms want the TV, and where it most often goes wrong: too hot, too high, wires down the chimney. Here is how we decide if the spot works, how high the screen goes, and what it costs. From $198 before HST for a 44 to 65 inch TV above a gas fireplace on drywall, your mount. Pay after the job.
From $198 before HST, pay after the job.
Heat check before we drill
We run the fireplace for twenty minutes and read the wall with an infrared thermometer where the bottom edge of the TV will sit. Most TV makers allow about 40 °C around the set. If the wall reads above roughly 38 °C (100 °F), the TV does not go there, and we tell you before a single hole is drilled. Then the options are a pull-down bracket that parks the TV higher and lowers it to watch, a mantel deep enough to deflect the heat, or a different wall.
Gas, wood or electric
- Gas insert: the most common fireplace in Bedford, Clayton Park and Larry Uteck homes. Usually fine above a mantel once the heat check passes.
- Wood-burning: runs hotter and less evenly. We say no more often above open wood fireplaces than above gas inserts.
- Electric: electric fireplaces and fireplace consoles give off little heat at TV height, but we still measure. The usual question here is height and wires, not heat. See a TV above an electric fireplace console.
How high the TV goes
The rule we use: mount as low as the mantel and the heat allow, then tilt. A screen above a fireplace already sits higher than eye level from the couch, so every extra inch costs you neck comfort. A tilt mount angles the screen down; a full-motion mount pulls it out and down to eye level, then pushes back flat when the TV is off.
Hiding the wires above a fireplace
The wall above a fireplace rarely has a clean path down, because the firebox and its chase are in the way. Three options:
- Paintable channel down the side: $49. Works on any wall, including brick and stone.
- Cables inside the wall: $119, when the sides of the chimney breast are drywall with an open cavity.
- In-wall cables plus a recessed power kit: $219. An outlet behind the TV, nothing on the wall. A code-compliant plug-in kit, no electrician needed.
On stone or brick, cables cannot run inside the masonry, so the channel is the option there. Here are all three ways to hide TV wires.
Stone and brick fireplaces
Stacked stone and brick above a fireplace are drilled with masonry bits and anchored into the stone or brick, never the mortar. That is +$79 on top of the fireplace add-on. How we anchor each kind of masonry is on the brick and stone page: TV mounting on brick and stone.
What it costs
| Job | Total before HST |
|---|---|
| 44 to 65 inch TV above a gas fireplace, drywall, your mount | $198 |
| Same, with a tilt mount from us | $277 |
| 44 to 65 inch above a gas fireplace, tilt mount from us, wires in a paintable channel | $326 |
| 44 to 65 inch above a stone fireplace, your mount, wires in a channel | $326 |
Fireplace add-on $69, stacks with the wall type. Full price list: How much TV mounting costs in Halifax.
Recent fireplace jobs
65" TV above a fireplace in Hammonds Plains, full-motion mount, no visible wires
Hammonds Plains, Halifax. Full-motion mount so the screen tilts down to the couch; cables inside the wall with a recessed power kit.
See how it was done →
TV mounted on a stone fireplace, before and after
Halifax Regional Municipality. Stacked-stone wall over a gas fireplace, outlet already at TV height, TV anchored into the stone with the cable hidden behind it.
See how it was done →
TV mounted above an electric fireplace console
Halifax Regional Municipality. TV centred over a white electric fireplace console, height set to clear the heater vent, cables behind the console.
See how it was done →
Three TVs mounted in one visit: living room, bedroom, basement
Halifax Regional Municipality. Living room, bedroom and basement fireplace wall in one trip, each TV on its own mount and levelled.
See how it was done →Questions we get about this
Is it safe to mount a TV above a fireplace?
It is when the wall stays cool enough. We run the fireplace for twenty minutes and measure the wall at TV height first. Above roughly 38 °C (100 °F) we do not mount there and suggest a pull-down bracket, a deeper mantel or another wall.
How much does it cost to mount a TV above a fireplace in Halifax?
The fireplace add-on is $69 on top of the TV mounting rate ($99 to $179 by size). A 44 to 65 inch TV above a gas fireplace on drywall with your mount is $198 before HST. Stone or brick adds $79; a mount from us is $59 to $119.
How high should a TV be above a fireplace?
As low as the mantel and the heat allow, then tilted down. A tilt or full-motion mount brings the screen back toward eye level from the couch.
Can you hide the wires above a fireplace?
Yes: a paintable channel ($49), cables inside the wall where the chimney breast is drywall ($119), or in-wall cables plus a recessed power kit ($219). On stone or brick the channel is the option.
Do you mount TVs above electric fireplaces?
Yes. Electric fireplaces and consoles give off little heat at TV height, but we still measure before drilling.
Ready?
Or text a photo of the wall to 782-446-6322 for an exact price in minutes. No deposit, you pay after the job.