How to simulate drywall for painting? (1 Viewer)

[seth_petry_john]

When I move into my new house in 3 weeks I intend on flush-mounting my 57" Toshiba 57H82 into a wall in the finished basement. The wall is already built, along with enough space behind it to fit the set into, so all I have to do is cut a big hole and then push the set through.

However, I REALLY want to cover up the speakers in the TV's base, leaving just the screen visible. I intend on running all audio through the receiver and external speakers.

So here's my problem: the screen sticks out in front of the base maybe 1/2" on the sides, but only ~1/4" in the center... the base curves outward a little in the middle. Therefore, I can't just patch the drywall once the TV is set because I don't have enough depth.

I thought about taking some plywood or paneling and attaching it to either side of the opening in the drywall and then painting over it, but my fiance thinks the paint will look different when applied to wood than drywall.

So here's the point: what sort of treatment can I apply to the wood so that, when painted, it will look just like painted drywall? Is there any kind of plaster compound that will work? Can I putty over the entire length of wood and then paint?

Any suggestions would be VERY much appreciated.

Seth

 

[SethH]

I'm not sure if this would work, and there's probably something better out there, but you could try using spackle. It's a very cheap way to go and would probably hold up pretty well and have more of a drywall look. You would certainly be able to tell the difference, but from a distance it probably wouldn't be noticable.

 

[Jack*Mains]

Keep one more thing in mind: TV's can get hot. Make sure there is proper ventalation as the heat can build up quite quickly and cause some damage.

As for the speaker, I don't suppose it would be an option to take the bottom half apart so that it becomes flush with the wall?

 

[seth_petry_john]

I've tried pulling off the front of the speaker cabinet part of the TV, but its attached pretty securely. I haven't looked super close yet to determine if it will come apart.

A guy here at work told me that there IS such thing as 1/4" drywall, so that might be an option. He also suggested something called "tile backboard" or something to that effect, which he described as being akin to thin, compressed drywall.

I think I'll swing by the Home Depot this weekend to pick up some material samples and some paint...

Seth

 

[Roy C.]

You could prime the wood and spray a couple of coats of drywall texture in a can. You can buy that stuff pretty much anyway, HD, Lowes, etc... That might do the job...

Good luck,
Roy C.

 

[Al Spencer]

Seth-
What if you need to access the TV for maintainence, repairs,or to add new components to it. Is the space on the other side open?
What I might suggest is that you finish out the cut out area with some trim and build a frame that would be finished out as well, treat the unfinished (or back side) with speaker fabric and set it in place in front of the speaker base. That way you would have a somewhat custom look by choosing the type of wood and stain, and still have access to the TV.
Additionally, you could incorporate the above idea with a proscenium, which would look really nice and give a finished look.

 

[seth_petry_john]

Getting behind the TV is no problem at all. There's probably 6 feet (maybe 7) of depth behind the wall, including the sump pump. When the current owners finished the basement, they left this section as storage, so there's a door I can use to get behind the TV for access.

In fact, for my first attempt I'm going to wheel the TV through that door into the storage area. Then I'm going to cut a hole in the drywall just big enough for the screen to stick through, and I'm going to try to sand down (or otherwise reduce) the existing drywall below the hole. If I can shave the depth down thin enough then I can just bring the TV in from behind, and then I don't have to worry about replacing that big chunk of drywall beneath the screen.

Seth