new to forum, questions a plenty! (floating wall and tv over fireplace)

jag

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Hi all, first post made on asking help for screen selection (http://www.avforums.com/forums/tvs/1363717-looking-46-tv-suggestions-please.html#post13491904), second is here!

im currently about to embark on my first home cinema setup (away from screen in the corner of the room) and could do with some advise and pictures for inspiration. so here goes:

MY KIT
Surround - KEF 5005s
AV Reciever - ONKYO SR 608
TV - tbc see link above
Cables - tbc (chord most likely and wireworld hdmi)

MY IDEAL
landscape fireplace with screen and 5.1 surround above it. would like a glass fronted fire, but 6kw of heat will cause serious problems?
av kit and peripherals to go to right on chimney breast in cabinet
(class 1 brick chimney 54" wide)

MY SOLUTION(S)

1
get an open fire gas fire (Gazco Studio 2) that is 25% efficient and pumps circa 2kw of heat into the room and allows for safe install of tv and other kit above it (300mm above) then fit the screen and speakers to the chinmeny breast with cables hidden (in trunking) into the wall (will need to channel 3 speaker cables, 2 hdmi, coaxial, and a power point for screen)

2
get the glass fronted gazco that pumps out 6kw of heat and build a "floating wall (halo effect)" from fireboard (stumbled across this idea from this very forum) and having the tv recessed back slightly fro the fireplace and the 3 speakers around it. Cables to built into fireboard tunneling.

HOUSEKEEPING
fireplace will be minimum 300mm from floor (to avoid needing hearth), it is 360mm tall.
tv will start probably 450mm from this point and the KEF Centre inbetween.


QUERIES:
im sure many have built something along these lines so any advise/warnings would be grateful. but my questions are:
* Does the Floating wall design have the same effect if i was to wrap it around the chimeny breast (i cant find pics of this being done)

* has anyone built a floating wall that doesnt go to ceiling height (e.g. 2ft ish short of ceiling)

*is there a simpler solution to what i want to achieve that i have missed?

* does anyone have the Gazco Sudio 2 open/glass fronted fire and can they tell me how warm 2kw/6kw gets? no one like to give me a straight answer in terms of degrees c regarding this...

Apologies for the multiple qs, but as im new to this game, i want to get it right and not mess up on my design/concept
 
Have a butchers at my thread below we've just installed the studio 1 open fronted into our build. We went open fronted to protect the TV and speakers and also went with fire board on the stud wall. It's really a show piece it kicks out a bit of heat but pales on comparison the the glass fronted versions so if you went open fronted I wouldn't rely on it as your sole source of heat for the room.

Have you had an installer come round with the thought of putting the studio 2 in? I know for us it was going to be a hell of a lot more work and hence why we when with the studio 1.

Something to keep in mind.

Last piece of advice would be to browse through the galleries on here there are some awesome builds and loads of ideas that was one of my main sources for coming up with my build and finding solutions to problems.

Cheers,
Dan.
 
Thanks Dan, that is pretty much what im looking to achieve. fireplace looks awesome and has convinced me that is what i want.

i think a studio 2 should fit ok, but i guess you never know until the old place is taken out and assess what needs to be done.

bringing the fire forward from the original chimney hole is something i didnt even consider, i'll get hold of a bracket for tv next, and work out exactly how much room i need to get the flush look.
how thick is the fire board and what size timber did you use for the framework?

i've had a look at other build on here, its pretty much where i got my inspiration to get this work done. some great setups.

i've got the home cinema kit now (apart from connections) so its just a case of ordering the right fireplace and getting it all in hopefully before xmas.

thanks again for the link, lots of tip on that thread!
 
Glad you found it useful.

The fireboard is half inch thick (12.5mm) and in some places we double lined it to add extra heat protection.

I can't for the life of me remember what wood size I bought but I have some offcuts still somewhere so I'll measure it up when I get a chance.

Getting everything flush was certainly the tricky bit as we had to have the fire built out and the tv bracket set back but it's well worth it.

Good luck with the build and I hope to see some pictures come up soon.

Oh and if you get it all done by x-mas I'll tip my hat to you!
 
Also, have a look on my thread for one or two idea's.
 
thanks for all your help guys, great reads and full of inspiration.

i've litterally just ordered my fireplace, went for a verine vertex xl Verine Vertex XL Hole-in-the-Wall Gas Fire - Hotprice.co.uk

overall frame size is pretty much the same width as the Sony HX 903 i picked up earlier in the week.

no how i have the hardware, i just need advise on the cabling to use to connect everything up....

not sure how many ARC hdmis the tv has, but i will put in 1 or 2 of these into the wall. any suggestions on 5m lengths?

also was thinking of chord speaker wiring, i dont need to go crazy with this stuff, thinking about ÂŁ3ish p/m? (hooking up KEF 5005.2 to a Denon SR608)

im all exticed now, things are starting to happen, the vision is taking shape into reality! :)
 
thanks for all your help guys, great reads and full of inspiration.

i've litterally just ordered my fireplace, went for a verine vertex xl Verine Vertex XL Hole-in-the-Wall Gas Fire - Hotprice.co.uk

overall frame size is pretty much the same width as the Sony HX 903 i picked up earlier in the week.

no how i have the hardware, i just need advise on the cabling to use to connect everything up....

not sure how many ARC hdmis the tv has, but i will put in 1 or 2 of these into the wall. any suggestions on 5m lengths?

also was thinking of chord speaker wiring, i dont need to go crazy with this stuff, thinking about ÂŁ3ish p/m? (hooking up KEF 5005.2 to a Denon SR608)

im all exticed now, things are starting to happen, the vision is taking shape into reality! :)

Nice fire place that will look sweet!

I only have one HDMI running to my TV and I'll be plugging all my devices straight into the amp and then using the single HDMI out from the amp into a HDMI splitter and sending the signal to the TV and PJ.

I got my HDMI's from thatcable they come very highly recommended on here and WhatHiFI and they are a good price. My experience was first rate with them also.

I'm not too hot on speaker cable so your best off asking someone else.

Exciting times! Don't forget the pictures!
 
thanks, i'll have a look at their site.
i think i may as well stick 2 in now so that i have the flexibilty if needed.

brush plates and 5.1 wall plate for speakers should complete the shopping list... SHOULD!
 
Mine still on going so cant see finished product yet, but mine is a mis-mash of many peoples ideas.

My first AV attempt
 
Last edited:
Hi Jag,
I'm also looking at the Gazco Studio 2 open front fire (i also would rather have the glass fronted, but the heat is too much).
Have you got started on your build yet?
What made to go for the fire you ordered? Was it cheaper than the gazco?
 
ddaddy, the Gazo Studio 2 was typically 1200-1500 from shopping around, the Verine Vertex i have ordered was ÂŁ700ish. you can get it without the large surround to have a similar finish to the studio.

the compromise for the inital saving, is a slightly smaller firebox, and i think it pulls in 1kw more gas to work...

i've got the vision of what i want to achieve now, so im just costing up and working out exactly what i need and how/where to go about to achieve the look...

will update accordingly.
 
Cheers Jag,
I've just had a quick look around at the Verine and they dont quote any output figures. 1 site even said for decoration only!
Do you think it's pretty much the same as the Gazco? (I know gazco quote figures, but they are really low).

I'm hoping on getting mine done before xmas, but it's pretty tight as we only decided to do it yesterday. I want to build a false wall infront of the current chimney to make the TV flush.
I was quoted ÂŁ250 to install the fire which included all chimney brickwork which I thought was really reasonable.
 
yeah that is very reasonable for chimney work. im getting quotes for around 350...

im pretty sure the verine open and gazco open will be very similar...

we are pretty much on the same schedule with this one i think. lets hope the works can get done in time.
just looking more into dimensions of tv, the ventilation frame around it is a bit bigger then i expected!
 
Yeh I was measuring up earlier and decided a 42" would be my max size to get although I wanted the biggest tv I could afford.
I think a 2" gap around it should be good.

Did you decide on your full wrap around and not to ceiling ideas?
This is exactly what my initial thought was, but I'm not sure how the 'not to ceiling' look will go down.
We've got curved wall to ceiling so not sure how I'd take it all the way up.
 
mine says 10cm gap either side and bottom, but 30cm above... thats pretty much the size of the chimney breast now!

good job i decided to build a stud wall around it to frame everything.

so many measurements to take into consideration...

depth of speakers, plus plaster/fire board thickness, plus plaster, plus wood thickness to get the measurements as streamlined as possible... i think a fully adjustable wall bracket would be best so that the tv can be fine tuned into the aperture...

for Kef 5005s, 12mm MDF boxing should be sufficient shouldnt it? the box will be supported by the stud framework too...
 
just a quick thought...

instead of having to build the huge ventilation frame around the screen (10cm*10cm*10cm*30cm above); could i install a few PC cooling fans above and to the sides (thinking 4 in total - 2 on top and 1 either side) to aid ventilation around the screen? (keeping say a 5-10 cm boarder all the way around).

has anyone done this?
 
Why not fit a grill/vent to the part above the screen?
This would allow hot air to continue up into the void.
 
good thinking! thats what i'll do.

where to i get lengths of that from?
 
ended up doing a bit of measuring and finalising the design today as i was "snowed in" from work.
managed to get all the framework cut and ready for the tv vent frame and speaker boxes.

now all that is left is to wait for the fireplace, get the stud wall up and plastered, get all the wiring plumbed in, hang the tv and enjoy!

but the shopping list still consists of all the wiring and surge protector, finishing touches (brush plates, speaker plates), wood and fireboard for stud wall, plaster and paint. and then carpet shopping.... the list is endless!
 
yeah i think its going to be easier to do that way. plus the vent frame turns out to be bang on the same same overall height as all the other pictures etc in the room, so it will look like it was always there and always supposed to be there! :)

i think what i'll do is increase the width by twice the size as i increase the depth of the overall chimney breast in order to keep it more in proportion. so circa 200mm out on all 3 sides.

pics of progress will be posted as and when i get round to the nitty gritty, just busy accumulating everything at the mo. and maxing out the cards in the process!
 
speaker boxes and tv vent frame built. didnt realise how expensive wood is these days!

also decided on using some flush mounted led lights (15mm outdoor ones that usually go into decking) in the speaker boxes to add a bit of glow to them. i have some spare, so not sure wether to add a glow behind the tv with them, or in the av rack...
 
Are you doing plasterboard and plaster or MDF?
 
framework/boxes that i've done so far has been cls timber and 12mm mdf, the rest of the stud wall work and final finish will be done using plasterboard and plaster (though i will keep an mdf panel on the side of chimney breast to get to wiring if needs be).
 

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