Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Mounting LCD over fireplace

I'm not sure if this is in the right section, if not i apoligize...

We will be moving into a new home shortly and the best place (in relationship to our furniture) to mount the tv is above the fireplace. I don't really like the idea of mounting it there since it is a little higher than I would like but I would rather strain my neck up with it above the fireplace than to the side with it somewhere on a side wall.

I like all the wires to be hidden as I have them now at our curent home but I don't know how I will do this since the chimney is behind where the tv will go i'm not sure how to mount it and hide the wires. I thought about constructing a frame using 2x4's and then drywall and finishing it up so I would have something to mount to and a hollow area to hide the wires.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

***Moderator's note: Duplicate posted in
Walls Ceilings have been deleted****

You might get some clues from this thread.
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=328610&highlight=fireplace

Yeah I saw that thread and it wasn't much help. Their situation was a little different than mine. I did take the heat & soot into consideration but I have a mantle so that should help with it a little bit. I'm not even sure how much if at all I will use the fireplace this winter.

There was a lot of info there for different situations.
Mount the thing. If it gets cooked, you learned a valuable lesson.

Is this a stone/brink fireplace that goes all the way up the wall, or does it stop above the hearth?

All four mounting holes must land on a material strong enough to anchor this thing to the wall.
If one hole doesn't meet this spec, all holes must be moved.
So, poke through the drywall with a very skinny icepick to verify your readings from your studfinder.
Using pressure and twisting, try to determine if you're hitting wood or a heating duct or a pipe or concrete or a nailing plate covering Romex.
If the holes are located badly you can spackle the holes.

The top fasteners are in tension so this is where you need the strong ones. The bottom ones are being pushed into the wall. But, all four fasteners are in shear, each one seeing 1/4 of the weight of the appliance.

Hillman Hardware's website has specifics on pull-out strengths, safety factors, etc. I've got this data summarized somewhere but I can't lay my hands on it right now.

Please, how do I search only my own previous posts for keywords or phrases?

Yes it goes all the way up as far as I can tell. There is mortar or something over the top of the bricks to make it a smooth surface to match the walls.

I know about it having to be mounted securely. The mount I have now has several holes and slides side to side allowing stud mounting and the ability to center it if needed.

The brick wall is a good thing. You can lag into the bricks (not the mortar) to hold the mount.

The brick wall is also a bad thing. Routing the cabling inside is probably not going to be possible. Consider a couple of hollow "fake" columns or moldings to hide the wiring.