who installed the durock?

Hi there-
I really appreciate your comments and concerns
Why do you ask who installed the cement board? Our contractor did
The house truly has no wall space - this is virtually it
While I appreciate it is not ideal, it is the reality. We have had a fireplace with tv placed above for the last 8 years.
In this case can you offer an opinion re whether the tv should go on drywall or stone? And at what height? White mantle or bar board?
Perplexed

I think it would look great either way. We had a tv mounted over a fireplace (granted, the fireplace was not used) and never had issues viewing the tv. Not sure why everyone acts like its the end of the world.


Do you have pictures of the stone you are using? I'd place the mantle about halfway between the top of fireplace and where the horizontal seam is in the cement board. That partly depends on the size of the tv and how much room you'd have.

Without knowing the stone, my personal preference is to put it all the way to the ceiling and just make sure you have a substantial enough mantle

Thank you for these suggestions . I have attached a photo that has the stone on the floor. I thought stone floor to ceiling would be very heavy. Also I thought the tv should be about the size of the fireplace opening and entered above the opening . I like that it's off center

I would definitely say stone up to the ceiling.

I like that it's off center. I'm doing the same set up- tv over fireplace. we are also agonizing over this decision trying to figure out what would best complement the house. have you looked into concrete tile or slab? I think it might be cool in your space. another option would be doing wood from floor to ceiling stained gray.

We did look at cement skimmed tile and slabs . A little more modern than what we wanted to achieve,I think ;) we looked at leather too. Very cool. Anyway stone is beautiful but still the overall look is able to be tweaked... That is the dilemma for today. Tomorrow it will be something else . Ahhh renovations

I'd do the stone up to the ceiling and mount the TV straight above the fireplace opening. I wouldn't do a white mantle on the stone. Think it looks too harsh.

A weathered wood should be nice.

Great Images - that really helps - thank you

I'm wondering if shiplap would give you the rustic look you seem to want instead of stone and bar wood. It may compliment a Cape better. If not, all stone.

What is ship lap?

Hearth?

ship lap is wood. have you seen fixer upper on hgtv? she uses it everywhere lol. I really like the look

Ship lap is wood that runs horizontally and starting from the bottom, each board, as you go up, laps slightly over the top edge of the previous board.

Ship lap...

I don't see any reason to run stone up to the ceiling when you're just going to slap a big TV over it and hide most of it.

OTOH, I hate looking up at a TV. They should be at eye level. And I dislike gas log fireplaces. Real or nothing.

It sounds like this is the only place for TV tatts.

It is the only place for a tv. Believe me not ideal but will be used thank you for the ship lap idea. I did not know we were taking pn this project and have never seen a design show before ;( so here we go
Thank you everyone

I don't know what the rest of your room is like but I saw this in Houzz and it might be a good fix if your room was large enough. It's like a freestanding wall for the TV.

I just came across this photo, reminded me of your dilemma

Based on the picture above, I like the stone on the lower half with drywall above. Stone to the ceiling is a heavy look and, I think, emphasizes the tv more than when the tv is on drywall.

I disagree ;-) I think that it would be a shame to chop up the fireplace with different materials. Different people, different opinions :-)

I would check into your local building codes as that cement board is hung on wood framing very close to that fire box. Also the added projection of the wall could be an issue. Interesting way to hang the board, it will do but doesn't look like experienced contractor.

I hate fake stacked stone walls as they look so fake. I always look at them and think OK, How are they supposed to look real with spacing between them and no mortar? Then most don't account for edges and turns so they are terminated with raw edges exposed. Not bashing just explains for them to look right takes the correct stone that has all the accys needed to do edges. You also need an experienced installer.

I would look into the many tile options that can give the same 3d stone effect. There are so many cladding options you need to spend a day or so narrowing down a look.

good luck

wannabath i think you're right on. Before even looking at the question the first thing i noticed was the improper durock installation. Aside from just looking bad and being totally piecemeal, some of it's backwards. Yes there is a front and back to durock, the rough side goes out for mortar or thinset to give them something to bite. not to mention the lack of screws and improperly placed screws... What's on top can look however you want it to, but if what's underneath isn't right, it won't look good for long.