A media wall is a stud wall built out in front of the real one, with recesses for the TV, an electric fire, shelves or lights. Done well it hides every cable and looks built in; done in a hurry it ends up with a TV bracket fixed into nothing and a fire that won't fit its hole.
Nearly every problem starts before the first cut, so most of this guide is about planning.
Start with what goes in it
Get the actual sizes of everything going into the wall before you draw it: the TV (and the bracket, which sets how far it stands off), the electric fire or insert and its fitting instructions, any soundbar, and the boxes that sit on shelves. The recesses are sized from these, and the recesses set where the studs go.
Fires and TVs change models often. Work from the one the customer has actually bought, not a similar one.
How high to put the TV
For comfortable watching the middle of the screen should be about at eye level when seated. On most sofas that's roughly 1000 to 1100 mm off the floor. A bigger screen can go a little higher, but a TV high over a fire is a neck-ache: if the fire's going underneath, keep it low and wide rather than tall, so the TV doesn't end up near the ceiling.
The frame
Most media walls are framed in 38 × 63 mm CLS at 400 mm centres, fixed to the floor, the ceiling and the wall behind. Studs at 400 put every plasterboard edge on a stud and give a stiff face to fix to. Build out far enough for the deepest thing in the wall: the fire, or the TV in its recess on its bracket, plus the board on the face.
- Each recess is framed like a window in a stud wall: a full-height stud each side, a short stud inside it, a header across the top and a sill across the bottom, with short studs above and below.
- Noggins go exactly where the TV bracket's fixings will be, doubled up or backed with a piece of plywood for a big TV, and wherever shelves or anything heavy will fix.
- Mark the noggins on the floor or take a photo before boarding, so you can find them again.
The stud wall calculator lays out the frame, the framing round each recess and the timber to buy.
Electric fires
An inset electric fire needs the opening size, depth and clearances in its instructions, and many need a gap for air above or round them. Follow them exactly: they are what keep the fire safe and its warranty valid. It will also want a socket or fused spur you can reach, usually beside it rather than behind it.
A timber-framed media wall is for electric fires only. A gas or solid-fuel fire, or a chimney behind the wall, is a different job with its own regulations.
Cables and sockets
Plan the cable route before boarding: from behind the TV down to the box or shelf where the equipment sits, usually in a length of conduit or a cable channel so cables can be changed later. Put the TV's socket behind the TV, where the bracket hides it. In England, new circuits and work in some places need a registered electrician under Part P: get one in for the sockets.
Boarding and finishing
Board the frame in 12.5 mm plasterboard or MDF, then line the recesses. Corners take beading or careful taping; recesses take the most time to finish, so keep their sizes to whole boards where you can. Slats or acoustic panels on part of the face add depth, and LED strips in the recesses light them; leave a route for the LED drivers where you can get at them.
Plan it in JoinerKit
In JoinerKit, add a stud wall to the wall, set the timber, the height and 400 centres, and add a recess for the TV and one for the fire at their real sizes. It draws the frame with the framing round each recess, and can put slats on the face. Add the TV and the fire as finishing touches to see it in 3D with the room, then show the customer a link before you build.
Questions
How high should a TV be on a media wall?
With the middle of the screen at about seated eye level: roughly 1000 to 1100 mm off the floor for most sofas. Keep it lower and wider with a fire underneath rather than raising the TV.
What timber do I use for a media wall?
Most are framed in 38 × 63 mm CLS at 400 mm centres, with extra noggins wherever the TV bracket, shelves or anything heavy will fix.
Can I put an electric fire in a media wall?
Yes, an inset electric fire made for it, fitted to the opening size, depth and clearances in its instructions, with a socket you can reach. Not a gas or solid-fuel fire.