The hearth wall in a Tomball two-story
Nearly every brick two-story in Tomball puts the fireplace where the television wants to be. The common build is a gas insert with brick or cast stone to the mantel and drywall above; some older Tomball houses take brick from floor to ceiling, and the Old Town frame houses use a chimney breast with plaster on either side. We measure heat before we choose hardware. Thirty minutes of full burn, then an infrared sweep across the wall above the mantel. A gas unit with a proper mantel shelf usually holds 95 to 110 degrees, which any modern panel tolerates. Past 120 degrees we start talking about a mantel deflector or a pull-down bracket that drops the screen to eye level for watching. Drywall and plaster above a surround are standard-rate stud work. A bracket landing on the brick itself takes quarter-inch Tapcons through a 3/16-inch carbide pilot at low speed, plus the published +$99 masonry surcharge. A drop cloth covers the hearth and mantel before the first hole. Plan on 85 to 115 minutes.