SFGate

decoenthusiaste I would go over the electrician's head to whoever assigned him to you. I'm no expert but you should google a lot and get your facts together on these installations before getting a new electrician assigned.

Aja Mazin Curious ~ Is the TV going in the family room or the living room?

Jayme Hobbs First thought was...WHAT? YOU r the owners. There is a solution and there are lots of ways to do this....this can be done....wondering about the electrician's contract and that additional work is the issue...the general contractor is the where u start. This can be done.

Chris Affleck Is he saying that he does not want the stone where the tv mount will be? Because that would be correct. Maybe you just need some clarification on what exactly he means, as you do not want to install the mount through the stone.

Is the rock facade already up? If its not, measure the mount area and don't put stone there, he should do it no problem.

birch8 The tv is going up in the family room. I will google the topic further to get more insight on how tv mounts go up over these types of surfaces. Thanks all for your responses! It is MY house and I will have it set up how I like!

Rachel Kees you cannot install the tv over the stone. It may be possible to order a bracket to go over, but would likely be very costly. He is right to leave a hole in the stone, and install tv in the hole. This is very common procedure for these installations. Work for a custom homebuilder, and this is how we handle the installs. Good luck.

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders His concern most likely is that he can't get bolts that are long enough to get through the rock and into the studs in order to be secure (if you can even find the studs through the rock??). If the rock is not there yet, then maybe someone can put long bolts into the studs in advance and then have the rock applied around them. Even at that, it probably would be almost impossible to find the right diameter bolt to go with the TV mount in something long enough. It will be interesting to see on this.

Ramona I'm sure this can be done as per responses above, but a bigger consideration is should it be done? TVs are going to be far different fairly soon. We are going to have 1" deep tvs at almost unlimited wall sizes. Do you want a permanent hole in your rock facade which will not take tvs as they are made in the future? Lots of people here on houzz are on a campaign to end the tv over the fireplace fad. Mine is right there as there is no other appropriate wall, but I think you need to think a little bit into the future.

Aja Mazin "It is MY house and I will have it set up how I like!"

Never mind the advice of an experienced, certified, licensed electrician.

And we wonder why our home insurance rates are so high.....

The electrician is not refusing to mount the TV, he is saying the only way he will mount it is by telling the builders to leave out the rock deco where the TV would be mounted,

decoenthusiaste I wonder what you do later when you want to upgrade the TV and get a larger one. HMMMM...

Jason Porter There may be a misunderstanding... the rock should be left out where the MOUNT attaches to the wall, not a hole the size of the TV. The mount is probably only 5-8" square, depending on the type.

carolannr I wonder whose crazy idea it ever was to put a TV above a fireplace. That's not a very large set in the "example" room and it looks really high. Doesn't look like a bigger one would fit - no upgrades ever?. Guess its not for anyone to really watch. They should be viewed from a almost head-on position to comfortably and safely watch - saves getting a crick in your neck that's for sure. They should always be mounted on a flat surface - not your deco rocks that are only a decorative surface.

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Okay, there are solutions but I feel the electrician is technically correct. The stone installation specification is based on the stone itself staying on the wall with the weight of the stone only - not carrying the additional weight of the TV. The stone is not flat so I am not even sure how the bracket would be properly attached even if someone tried.
The large TV bracket needs to be fastened directly to the main support which needs to carry the load. Your support specifications will be outlined with the TV bracket installation instructions. You should leave the opening but have the builder provide you with additional stone in case you want to fill in the area at a later date. I recently installed a TV to a wall of granite and there is an opening left the size of the bracket which was filled with plywood and painted black.
I feel the electrician is trying to help you and only do work that he will stand behind.

kimdee24 ^ This!

auntagatha Our TV is over the fireplace because it is where it works best right now. It's too high and I hate it there. I would find a different place to put the TV. Does it really need to be the focus of your room?

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Honestly, when designers plan out a room where the TV is going we assess many details including traffic flow, seating needs, focal and views. With more and more home designs going the open concept route it leaves less options hence the TV above the fireplace hung like a piece of art. Unfortunately, it's not art and has it's own inherent issues - big black hole when it's not on as an example. I agree that this too will change at some time in the future but for the next foreseeable few years it's a viable solution.

birch8 Aja Mazin, I do not appreciate your snarky comment. If you have nothing to contribute then you should keep your sarcasm to yourself. I don't believe people are on this website to be criticized or put down.

To everyone else, I really appreciate your insight and knowledge on this matter. I am new to this and am learning as I go along. I sincerely appreciate everyone's professionalism and advice. It is a good idea to think about the future and how technology is changing so quickly. Also, the matter of how high the tv is another good point and something to definitely consider. I think I have to go back and speak to the electrician and have him clarify what his thoughts/opinions.

It is MY house and I will have it set up as I like! Why wouldn't I?!?!

birch8 I'm really grateful to (almost) all of your responses. I guess I am lucky to have an alternative wall where I can place the tv (second picture). The point about the tv not being at eye level is a crucial point.

santrope I think you should take a look at some of the amazing options available at
www.fauxpanels.com
. I believe this is the material that the designers using on Ultimate Makeover Home Edition, DIY Channel, HGTV, DesignStars, for projects like yours.

GEE Contracting and Development GEE

Mastrianno Construction & Design llc. Your contractor should have installed plywood backing during the framing process and then you would not have any issues with the mounting of the bracket. If you can get backing behind the wall you could then attach threaded rod into the backing then thru the stone and then into the bracket.(the rod can be cut to any size) We have installed a few TV's like this with no problems.

shannonmcginty Why not get him to put the bracket on the wall before the rock deco? Then they would be able to cover it up as much as possible? If the rock deco hasnt been done yet :P

groveraxle If you decide not to put the television over the fireplace, you should look into a lift cabinet which hides the tv and looks like a console when not in use.

Jayme Hobbs The point is, the homeowner is building a new house. and is spending a lot of money and has thet right to install a tv where they want it. There may be better ways to do this, and there may be bad ways to do this...which is why I said...go to your general contractor and get the options. My husband also works for a wonderful builder who builds custom homes, and I have seen many gorgeous homes with stone and brick/rock products that HAVE t.v.'s over the FP. I don't know about most people, but if it were myself building a new house, I would be upset to be told from an electrician that I couldn't do this...he really needed to give options and/or refer her back to the main contractor.Additionally, Thanks Mastrianno Construction for setting this thing straight!

Tari Swenson I say keep your living room for art and conversation. I don't understand TV's over the fireplace!

Joseph I. Mycyk Architects, Inc. It smells to me like there is a slight lack of communication and oversight here.

If you are using a general contractor, then the GC should be able to coordinate what needs to be done by which trade in what sequence to accomplish the intended outcome. Don't forget the subs are contracted to the GC and the GC is contracted to you. You should only be talking with the GC.

If you are using an interior designer overseeing this, and your interior designer has contracted the subs, then the interior designer is the one responsible to coordinate what needs to be done by which trade in what sequence to accomplish the intended outcome. If the subs are contracted to the interior designer and the interior designer is contracted to you, you should only be talking to the interior designer.

If you are acting as your own GC and you hired each subcontractor who is contracted to you, then you would've discussed the project with each sub and you would've have gotten to an understanding what each trade needs to accomplish and in what sequence to accomplihs the intended outcome.

It's not a simple matter of beating one's chest and saying it's my house and I get what I want.

It's a matter of coming to an understanding as to how it could be accomplished.

Jayme Hobbs My impression was not chest beating, but a normal reaction of someone spending a ton of money building a new house. It is evident there is misunderstanding and miscommunication here, not uncommon and easily resolve. , from what the homeowner said, is does not sound like the electrician left an room for negotiation....prob. not his place either.... My husband just got home and he actually laughed when I told him about this. He reaffirmed to me that it is done all the time, and done nicely without leaving an area free of the product. Again, whoever is the general contractor is the go to guy/gal.....u can get this done and should not feel bad about asking to do it. Good luck!

birch8 Thank you Jayme Hobbs!!!

Aja Mazin Neither personal preference nor money trumps safety concerns.

The electrician is not refusing to mount the TV, he is saying the only way he will mount it is by telling the builders to leave out the rock deco where the TV would be mounted,

Mastrianno Construction & Design llc. What safety concerns? It's a Tv.

Maria Billingsley of J Hettinger Interiors If your electrician is not willing to take the responsibility you should by ALL MEANS respect that. Geezz the last thing you want is the TV to land on that child in the photo.

Aja Mazin 1. Without even considering the ergonomics of the situation (which are vitally important!) I'm just not fond of the visual black hole above another visual black hole from a design standpoint.

2, Aside from the issue of mounting on stone, consider that most children watch TV from a prone position on the floor.

Think of the angle of the child's neck.

Think ergonomics.

3. And with that size screen at that distance, think binoculars.

The optimum diagonal screen size for a seating distance of 12 feet is 90 to 120 inches.

Your line of sight for viewing TV [of any size] should be 90 degrees to the surface of your screen, at it's center.

Aja Mazin If you absolutely must have a TV above the FP, consider the advantages of this design.

The TV is firmly bolted and anchored in the wall studs.

However, mounting a TV over a FP will often void the warranty and
you need to know that most servicers will not touch a TV over a FP with a 10 foot pole

mcaminata Please let us know what you end up doing. I just mounted my TV above our fire place and I am having second thoughts.

tracytopolnitsky It seems like you've gotten the answer but I wanted to comment since i have this exact thing in my house (we built too). We did leave off the tiles where the mount on the back of the tv was as well as where the power supply was (the cables were run through the wall and also came out there). In total it meant maybe skipping 2 "tiles" of the stone work (the entire space is less than 1 sq ft) - its completely hidden by the tv and not noticeable at all....

birch8 Mcaminata, I will definitely let you know what we end up doing.
Thank you Tracytopolnitsky for the info! Its good to know how others have set up their tv's.