Mount Up!!

Ok guys, when we last left our little TV switch-a-roo, we had moved from this:

...to this:

Making the final decision to mount the TV above the fireplace was, well, "final" since we determined it would have to hang from the ceiling to make it work (since our failed attempt at mounting it to the actual wall failed as explained here)

So Friday after work, we decided to get started.

 I made sure Chris measured, and remeasured 100 200 times to make sure we were perfectly centered above the fireplace and even used the laser level to make sure it was spot on.

Sorry for the grainy picture... it's from Chris's cell camera (apparently from 1999)

 I turned my back for a second and Chris had already put the hole in the ceiling. (Honestly, it was probably better that way so I didnt have to be lurking over his shoulder telling him he's doing it wrong/right/too fast/too slow/not careful enough).

Yes hunny, that IS a hole in our ceiling...

 Chris, because he's smart (on TOP of being incredibly good-looking) he made a hole-sized template BEFORE he started drilling... the result was a perfectly sized entry point for our ceiling mount.

He makes such pretty faces...

 Chris then ventured up into the attic where he proceeded to use a 2x6 to hold the mount and then drilled the 2x6 into the crossbeams, making it extra secure.

Sorry this picture is confusing.. I was not the photographer... but you get the general idea... oh, and Chris was NOT drilling into the brick fireplace although that's what it kinda looks like

Less than an hour after we Chris started, we had a ceiling bar strong enough for Chris to do pull ups on.

 Another quick note, the bars to this ceiling mount kit were actually black... I just took a quick can of spray paint to them so the black wouldn't be as obvious when coming down from our WHITE ceiling and against our WHITE crown molding... hooray spray paint!

The next step was actually putting the "mount" part on and guestimating it to a comfortable watching height.

 Boom.  Looks good to me!

 It was then we said goodbye to our dear friend, TV stand/entertainment unit.

"...I will remember you... will you remember me???"

 Honestly, the hardest part of this entire process was adding the hooks to the back of the TV.

 Getting them installed and set up to a point where a 80lbs TV doesnt come crashing down gives me the nervous willies, but Chris is pretty much a pro, so other than me peering over his shoulder, asking what he was doing every 15 seconds, he didn't mind nearly as much.

 He also had a pretty good assistant.

 Ta-dah!!

 I dont have any pictures of us actually putting the TV up since it was Chris's job to lift and mine to make sure he was on the proper brackets, but when everything was finally in place, it. was. BEAUTIFUL.

 Of course, we just had it up for a minute to make sure the angle and everything were where we wanted it before we had to take it down.

Chris then ventured back up into the attic to feed down the wires for electric hook up and the HDMI cables that we use to get our satellite.

Look at me helping!!!

 Once everything was down, it was just a matter of getting everything plugged in and cleaned up.

 Rocky was a bit more impatient and nabbed the best seat in the house before we were even ready to turn it on...

"Entertain me"

 Since we had yet to move the actual cable for our DirecTv from the previous wall, we used my laptop again to watch a little Arrested Development online.

We finally made it to Season 3!

 Really? I mean come on, I love it.

 You can barely notice the bar coming down from the ceiling and once we move my laptop and clear off the mantle, it actually looks very clean!

On Saturday, I awoke to another hole in my house.

 This one is for all the cables and wiring coming down through the ceiling/wall to hook up to our satellite box, stereo, blue-ray player, etc. to the right of the fire place.

 The only step left was to get the cord from one side of the room to the other...

Please dont look at all our dust bunnies... yes, I know its gross... just look away... look away....

 Moving the cord would have been easy if it had gone up through the ceiling like we had originally thought... but alas, nothing in the house is really "easy"... especially when the wiring (for whatever reason) goes DOWN into our crawl space.

 So we had to send in our family gopher to move them... aka. Chris.

Luckily for him, the crawl space entrance is located in my closet (why? no idea) so at least he was greeted by pretty dresses and XL shoes on his way down.

 Mmmmm, k bye...

 

 Rocky, fearing a runaway attempt, was none too happy about Chris venturing under the house.

 After army-crawling through dirt, dust, and bugs I don't even want to think about, Chris eventually was able to move the wires and successfully switch on our satellite.

Since I have still yet to find a piece of furniture to rehab to use as our new entertainment unit (come on, Craigslist!) we currently just have everything sitting on the floor in the spot their "eventual" home will soon be.

DirecTV, blue-ray, stereo, sub-woofer? check.

Since the new set up is also underway (details tomorrow) I am dying to get the stuff OFF the floor ASAP.  Now if Craigslist could just cooperate and give me EXACTLY what I need...

What do you guys think of the TV?  Do you have any ideas of what would look good in that corner?  Im thinking something maybe french provincial with some curvy lines.

-Samm