tlwizard

My family just moved into a new place and there is a TV cabinet built into the wall next to the fireplace. I'm sure on old 32" CRT would fit perfectly there but they have a 46" LCD. I think the back of the cabinet (or giant open shelf, however you want to descirbe it) is too far back to put a wall mount, so I was wondering if it was possible to mount a wall mount on the shelf itself (thick one inch wood)?

It looks like the people before us had some kind of thing there as there are four predrilled holes. I'm just looking at monoprice at their mounts and can't figure out a) if they can do what needs to be done and b) which one will.

Here's what the cabinet looks like:


The TV is currently on a box. There is a fireplace next to the cabinet, but I think my family would prefer not mounting a TV that high up.

Thanks!

Spiky

Just get the Monoprice arm mount for the size, mount the arm on the back wall in a stud, and let it stick out to the front where the TV itself will be. Should be the $60 range, IIRC.

And 1" is not that thick. That's why I'd go with stud in the wall, not the actual shelves.

tlwizard

Makes sense.

So the cabinet is 30" deep. Will a mount be long enough to both clear the cabinet and have room left over to be turned and angled and stuff?

Spiky

Hmm, you're right, that's deeper than I was thinking. Monoprice has an extra long model, but that's only 25" for a TV that size. What about attaching on the side of the opening, inside? Anything strong enough in there?

Something like this might work if anchored well. And give you the movement you want.

belboz

Are the sides of the cabinet solid wood and are they firmly attached to the studs in the walls? If so, I'd use a couple 2x4's and use them as furring strips and screw one in vertically on each side of the cabinet. Then I'd put a piece of plywood in vertically so it spans the front of the cabinet and fastens to the 2x4's. This gives you a surface on which you can use a standard wall mount.

tlwizard

I don't know. I'm having a hard time figuring out where the studs would be, but I'll work on it some more. Don't know if all the wood would be hidden, but if not I can't imagine that passing aesthetic muster for my gf's mom.

Here's another question: are there wall mounts that move up and down? As in, could I mount above the fireplace and then be able to bring it out and down (So that the centerline of the TV is below the mantle)?

Spiky

RE: hidden....
Paint the wood to match the surroundings. Black behind the TV, wall color where they might be seen, out on the wall. 2x4s would be best, but a hardwood 1x6 might work and look nicer. I'd use bolts all the way through a 1" board to attach a mount instead of the lag screws you'd use in a 2x4.

When considering options, think: Would this look better than having the TV sitting on a box?

RE: up & down....
You can find a way to do anything, but if you are talking about a lot of movement, that sounds pricey. There are telescoping ceiling mounts, I'm sure someone must make one for larger TVs. Although, ceiling mount means really attaching it properly to the ceiling. Look up Barkan for an interesting mount that moves vertically.

tlwizard

:-) Well, it's currently sitting on a box and anything would look better than that.

I think we might try a side mount right at the front of the cabinet. Our assumption is that there is a stud right there since it's a wall corner. It doesn't seem like a vertically moving mount is that feasible at this point (or a reality), although I did find a guy who built his own online and was looking for funding to sell them (but had none to sell). If we can't do the side mount, we'll build some 2x4 supports in the cabinet and proceed from there.

Will update once we finally mount it.

Thanks so much for everybody's help.