Wall mount a large TV

[dneprrider]

I recently had to renovate a room that had original 1970s carpet and an ugly brick fireplace. I put down nice hardwood and covered the fireplace with cement to give it a modern look. Now I'd like to mount the 42" plasma TV on a wall in the same room and hide all the cables and equipment including the GBPVR computer in a closet on the other side of the wall.

I have built shelves for the equipment and installed electrical, phone and Cat5 cabling in the closet. Also installed a vent above the closet door to aid in air circulation.

The wall between the equipment room and where the TV will be located is about 6" thick and made of plaster.

Now for a question: Any recommendations on the best way to install the wires, VGA, HDMI, S-video, speaker etc from the closet to the TV on the other side of the wall?

I was thinking of using 2" plastic pipe inserted through the wall as a conduit.

Additional info:

The TV will be placed directly on the other side of the closet wall allowing for the cables to be passed directly through to the other side.

Last week I purchased a similar plasma wall mount to this one on ebay. The price was right.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LCD-Plasma-TV-Wa...dZViewItem
So I will simply mount to the wall ensuring the mount is secured to interior wall studs.

Thanks for all the comments, good point on separating power from signal. Since I am going to all this work I may as well go the extra distance to minimize electrical interference.

2nd Question. How high do most users mount the TV? This might be a good poll question. If i only knew how to start a poll on the forum. ( I figured out how to set up a poll using the thread tools)

I am thinking of placing the bottom edge at eye level from the sitting position in my good comfy chair. Approx 26inches.
The kids think it should be higher up the wall. But I am worried about having to keep looking up.

[whurlston]

You don't really need the pipe but it would make it pretty easy. The only thing is, you will need to replaster around the pipe so that it stays in place. You would probable want to put couplers on each end to ensure it doesn't shift. If you do go that route, I would use 2 pipes, separating the power (if you are taking the power into the closet).

Another option would just be to use a drywall saw to cut holes and put in low voltage boxes. They are usually orange and there is no back to them. The hole can then be hidden behind the tv.

If you do use a drywall saw on the plaster, do your self a favor and use a masonry drill bit to make 4 holes in the corner first, then play connect the dots with the saw

[dgeezer]

Using conduit of some kind, plastic seems the best for this situation and has the great advantage of being able to add or change wires at a later date. Since most of us are constantly tinkering (improving?) the setup it's nice to be able to simply incorporate the latest change.

You could leave the conduit a little long on each end and plaster back around it tight to seal up the opening. Is this closet directly behind the TV or will you need to make some turns inside the wall?

Tip: I tied fishing line to a champagne cork and sucked it 75' through a plastic conduit from my house to my garage using a shop vac duct taped to the end of the conduit. Then tied on a heavier line and then pulled CAT5 cable tv and power to my garage.

[dgeezer]

If the hole is straight through the wall you could use 2 plastic toilet flanges and a short piece of pvc pipe glued between them. This would cover the jagged cutout in the plaster and look kinda cool. Well, maybe just strange.

[groover km]

My suggestions:

Whatever size hole you plan on cutting, add about 50%. It's a pain when you have to start fenagling the plugs through a hole that is already full.

Pull a nylon cord or similar through with the cables and just leave it in there; it'll make it easier to add another in the future if necessary.

I used 'old work' boxes, mainly just to make it a little neater and so that the weight of the cables wouldn't fret the surrounding plaster.

To do it 'by the book' you would want to run the power separate - in fact code doesn't allow you to run power cables through the wall - but if you are only going straight through I wouldn't worry about it.

Oh and finally, mark the position for the hole based on the position of the connections on the back of the tv - you'll need to get your hand up there to plug then in and it's a lot easier if they are already in the right place.

[HtV]

Tip: I tied fishing line to a champagne cork and sucked it 75' through a plastic conduit from my house to my garage using a shop vac duct taped to the end of the conduit. Then tied on a heavier line and then pulled CAT5 cable tv and power to my garage.

You can do the same with cassette tape.

[ACTCMS]

The wall between the equipment room and where the TV will be located is about 6" thick and made of plaster.

Now for a question: Any recommendations on the best way to install the wires, VGA, HDMI, S-video, speaker etc from the closet to the TV on the other side of the wall?

I was thinking of using 2" plastic pipe inserted through the wall as a conduit.

If you are hanging a TV on the wall, you would normally fit the support brackets, attach all the cables and then hang the TV, leaving the cables hanging down inside the room.

Your biggest problem bringing the cabling thru the wall is supporting the TV while you attach the cables.

If the placement of this TV is to reasonable permanent I would be thinking about making a big hole in the wall, hanging the TV, and then making all the connections from inside the closet. Obviously, the hole would need to be in the right place relative to the TV to expose the sockets from inside the closet.

Note that if the wall is a supporting wall you would need to put some sort of lintel across the top of the hole.

If you then decide to move the TV or move house, just hang a 42" picture over the hole

[dneprrider]

Thanks for all the comments, good point on separating power from signal. Since I am going to all this work I may as well go the extra distance to minimize electrical interference.

2nd Question. How high do most users mount the TV?

I am thinking of placing the bottom edge of the TV at eye level from the sitting position in my good comfy chair. Approx 27inches.

The kids think it should be higher up the wall. But I am worried about having to keep looking up.

[whurlston]

Mines 6 inches above the fireplace. I didn't like it that high at first but I really had no choice. Once I got used to it, I have no issues. Couch is pretty big and it pretty much supports my neck so having it that high is not uncomfortable. If you have a low back couch/chair, it may be an issue.

[crossnet]

I would think the optimum height will depend upon the size of the set. Could we modify this poll to cover a range of heights and add the screen sizes?

em