I would like to hide my AV equipment behind the plasma. The lounge wall backs on to the garage. I have a Panasonic TH-42PW6. This will be mounted flush with the wall. The idea is to knock a hole in the wall. Insert beams to mount a wall mount bracket that will allow the plasma to tilt and swivel. The hole will be enclosed on the garage side by a box/cabinet made from wood/metal/brick. This will have a door to enable faulty equipment to be removed and replaced. Will there be enough room between the structure of the bracket to get to DVD and game consoles to change disks? I assume this all depends on the bracket used. Any suggestions? Any other idea or thoughts? The whole idea is to not have any AV equipment in sight or any unsightly door that hides a hole in the wall.. Thanks to all for any advice. Gez
I kind of see your idea but don't unhderstand the question? So at first i'm thinking you want to fit your plasma on the wall of your lounge that backs onto your garage. Then i presume you'll want to drill / knock a hole behind the plasma into the garage so you can run leads / power cables etc through the hole and into your amp / source etc. This all sounds good to me so far but then i got to the bit about changing discs?? Also , i don't understand the bit about "inserting beams" ??? Could you just clarify a bit please matey Jon
"This all sounds good to me so far but then i got to the bit about changing discs??" If I want to change DVd's I dont want to have to go round to the garage so the idea is to get a swivel bracket so I can swivel the plasma out from the wall and thus get to my dvd player. The same goes for games consoles. Also , i don't understand the bit about "inserting beams" ??? Depending on the shape of the wall bracket and the size of the hole required I may need to add beams across the hole to allow for the bracket to be mounted properley. Hope this helps! Gez
Sounds like an excellent idea, assuming that you can find a swivelling bracket/arm suitable for the job. I'd definately fit the beams (four-by-two), with a sheet of half-inch marine ply over the top. Might be worth fitting a sheet of ply on the garage side of the wall, too. If it's a cavity wall, fit a liner all around the hole. Make sure that the cabinet in the garage has sealed, airtight, doors. You'll get a nasty draught otherwise. You'll need an infrared repeater to control the hidden AV equipment.
There may be some problems with fire regulations, is the garage still used or is it capable of having a car in it. I think what ever you build to hold all the gear will have to provide you with the same fire rating as the existing wall. Seems alot of work when could just mount it all in a nice cabinet to the side.
A very good point. To comply, you'd probably need to build the cabinet from block/brick, and fit a fire-resistant door and a frame with a tumescent insert. I had a door knocked through into a garage in my last house. IIRC, the door and frame had a 30 minute rating.