For most living rooms the center of the screen belongs at seated eye level, which usually places it between 42 and 48 inches from the floor. A fireplace almost always pushes the television higher than that, so the honest answer to the second question is that above a fireplace is rarely ideal, and it works well only with a pull down mantel mount, a recessed niche, or a room whose proportions genuinely support it. Heat, wall structure, and cable routing decide the rest, and all three are worth checking before anyone drills a hole.
What height is actually correct?
The number that matters is not a standard measurement, it is your own eye level from the seat you actually use. Sit on your sofa in your usual spot and measure from the floor to your eyes. In most homes that lands somewhere between 40 and 44 inches. The center of the screen should sit at that height, or very slightly above it, because the eye tolerates looking down more comfortably than looking up.
Translating that into a mounting height depends on the size of the screen. On a 65 inch television the center of the panel sits roughly 16 inches above its bottom edge, so if your eye level is 42 inches, the bottom of the screen lands near 26 inches from the floor. On a 77 inch screen that same eye level puts the bottom edge closer to 23 inches. This is why a single rule such as 42 inches to the bottom of the television produces rooms that feel wrong, and why we measure in the room rather than working from a chart.
Viewing distance matters alongside height. A larger screen viewed from a short distance asks the eye to travel further across the picture, which makes any error in height more noticeable. In a narrow room, choosing a slightly smaller screen and placing it correctly produces a more comfortable result than a larger screen mounted too high.
Why the fireplace question comes up in almost every home
Architecturally the fireplace is usually the focal point of the room, and furniture is already arranged to face it. Putting the television anywhere else can feel like fighting the room. The difficulty is that a firebox and a mantel typically raise the screen to 60 inches or more at its center, which is well above seated eye level and leaves you looking upward for the length of a film.
Over a short viewing session this is merely noticeable. Over a full evening it produces genuine neck strain, and it is the single most common complaint we hear from homeowners who inherited a fireplace installation from a previous owner or a quick installation service. The picture quality suffers too, because most televisions lose contrast and color accuracy when viewed from a steep angle below the panel.
When a fireplace installation genuinely works
There are three situations where we are happy to put a screen above a firebox. The first is a pull down mantel mount, which holds the television flush against the wall when it is not in use and swings down to seated eye level when it is. These mounts are engineered, weight rated, and considerably more substantial than a standard bracket, and they solve the problem completely rather than compromising around it.
The second is a modern linear gas fireplace with a low profile and no projecting mantel, which allows the screen to sit lower than a traditional firebox would permit. The third is a room with tall ceilings where the seating sits further back, which flattens the viewing angle enough that a modest rise above eye level stops mattering.
If none of those apply, the better answer is usually a different wall. It is a harder conversation than simply installing what was asked for, but it produces a room people actually enjoy sitting in.
What about the heat?
Heat rises up the face of the wall above a firebox, and manufacturers generally specify a maximum ambient operating temperature for a television, commonly around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Whether your wall exceeds that is not something anyone can judge by eye, because it depends on the type of fireplace, how far the mantel projects, and how the room ventilates.
We check it properly by measuring the temperature at the intended screen position during a full burn rather than assuming. A mantel that projects several inches usually deflects enough heat to make the position safe. A flush firebox with no mantel frequently does not. Where the temperature runs high, the answer is either a heat deflector shelf, a different position, or accepting that the fireplace and the television belong on separate walls.
Where the cables go
A television with a cable dangling below it undoes most of the work of mounting it in the first place. Signal cabling can run inside a standard stud wall without difficulty, but power is a different matter, because standard power cords are not rated to be run inside a wall and doing so is both a code violation and a fire risk.
The correct solution is an in wall power kit, which places a proper receptacle behind the screen and connects it to an existing outlet through in wall rated cable. It takes an extra half hour and it is the difference between a clean installation and one that will fail an inspection. On masonry walls, where routing inside is not possible, we use low profile raceway painted to match the wall, and we say so before the work starts rather than after.
Which mount suits your wall and screen
Fixed mounts sit closest to the wall and suit rooms where seating is directly in front of the screen. Tilting mounts allow a few degrees of downward angle, which helps where the screen must sit slightly high. Full motion mounts swing out and rotate, which is useful in open plan rooms where you watch from both the sofa and the kitchen, though they hold the screen further from the wall when retracted. Pull down mantel mounts, as described above, solve the fireplace problem specifically.
Whichever type you choose, the mount has to be rated for the weight of your screen and appropriate to the wall behind it. Timber studs, brick, stone, concrete, and metal stud partitions each need different anchors, and a bracket that is entirely safe on one is unsafe on another. This is the part of the job where experience matters and where the failures we get called out to repair almost always originate.
Common questions
How high should a 65 inch TV be mounted?
Measure your seated eye level, typically 40 to 44 inches from the floor, and place the center of the screen there. On a 65 inch television that usually puts the bottom edge somewhere around 24 to 28 inches from the floor, depending on your seating.
Is it bad to mount a TV above a fireplace?
It is higher than ideal in most rooms, and it causes neck strain over long viewing sessions. It becomes a good solution when you use a pull down mantel mount that brings the screen to eye level, or where the fireplace is low and the seating sits well back.
Do I need a special mount for a brick or stone fireplace?
You need appropriate anchors rather than a special mount. Masonry requires different fixings from timber studs, and the drilling approach differs as well. The mount itself is chosen for the screen weight and the way you want to use the room.
Can cables still be hidden on a masonry wall?
Not inside the wall, in most cases. We use a low profile raceway painted to match the wall, or route the cabling through an adjacent stud wall or the ceiling where the construction allows. We confirm which applies before starting.
How long does a professional installation take?
A straightforward single television with in wall cable concealment is usually finished within a couple of hours. Fireplace installations, masonry walls, and multi room jobs take longer, and the time is quoted with the price before we arrive.
Getting it right the first time
Height, heat, anchors, and cable routing are all decisions that are easy to make correctly at the start and expensive to correct afterwards, particularly once a wall has been opened. If you are weighing up a fireplace installation or simply want the screen at the right height in a room you use every evening, our team handles TV mounting across Los Angeles, from the Westside to Burbank and the Valley, and we are equally happy to tell you when the wall you have in mind is the wrong one. Send a photo of the wall for a flat rate quote, call (888) 818 9996, or visit erminehub.com.