Mounting a TV in a recessed niche

Many homes built from the 1990s through the 2010s have a framed recess above the fireplace or in the family-room wall, sized for the TVs of the day. Fitting a current TV into one takes more measuring than an open wall.

Measure five things

1. Width of the opening, at the front and at the back — niches aren't always square.
2. Height, same way.
3. Depth from the back wall to the face of the room wall.
4. Where the outlet and cable plate are on the back wall.
5. Where the studs are in the back wall (often not where a normal wall would have them).

Then check the TV's overall dimensions including the bezel, not the diagonal.

Leave room around the TV

A screen that fills the opening edge to edge looks great in photos and is miserable to live with: you can't get a hand behind it and heat has nowhere to go. Aim for at least 1 to 2 inches on each side and 2 to 3 inches above.

Ventilation

TVs shed heat from the back and top. In an enclosed pocket that heat builds up, more so above a fireplace. Clearance above the TV, and not sealing the gaps with trim, lets air move.

The depth question

• Shallow niche (2–4 inches): a slim fixed or tilt mount places the screen about flush with the wall face. Ideal.
• Deep niche (8–24 inches, built for tube or projection TVs): a TV on the back wall sits in a cave, with the sides cutting off the view from an angle. Use a full-motion mount with enough extension to bring the screen forward to the wall face — and enough to pull it right out for access. Our full-motion option is $89.

Access to the ports

In a niche you can't reach around the side. Either choose an arm that pulls the TV clear of the opening, or connect everything — with spare HDMI cables for future devices — before the TV goes in.

When the TV is too big for the niche

Options, from least to most work:

• Mount in front of the niche on an arm fixed to its back wall, so the TV covers the opening like a lid. The niche then hides the devices and cables.
• Bridge the opening with a mounting board or steel channel fixed to the framing on either side, and mount to that.
• Frame in and drywall over the niche for a flat wall — a carpenter's job, and the cleanest result for a large modern TV.

Niches above fireplaces

These are often high. Check the viewing angle with our tilt guide and the heat with the fireplace guide.

Soundbars

A soundbar inside a niche sounds boxy. Mount it at the front edge or just below the opening.

Arched niches

An arched top limits the height at the corners, not the centre. Measure the height at the TV's corners.

Send us the niche's width, height and depth in the booking notes and we'll bring a mount that reaches. Labor is by screen size, from $94.